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THIRTEEN 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSES, 


ON   THE    COMPLETION    OF 


TWO  HUNDRED  YEARS,  FROM  THE  BEGINNING 


FIRST    CHURCH    IN   NEW    HAVEN, 


WITH    AN    APPENDIX. 


BY  LEONARD  BACON, 


'  Ye  temples,  that  to  God 
Rise  where  the  fathers  trod, 

Guard  well  your  trust, 
The  truth  that  made  them  free, 
the  faith  that  dar'd  the  sea, 
Their  cherish'd  purity, 

Their  garner'd  dust." 


NEW  HAVEN: 

PUBLISHED    BY    DURRIE     &,    PECK, 
NEW  YORK : 

GOULD,   NEWMAN    &    SAXTOtf. 

1839. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1839, 

By  LEONARD  BACON, 
In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  Connecticut. 


Printed  by  B.  L.  Hamlen. 

• 


Stack 
Annex 

5" 


p3i 
PREFACE. 


THE  completion  of  two  hundred  years  from  the  settlement 
of  the  town  and  colony  of  New  Haven,  was  celebrated  with 
appropriate  religious  and  civic  observances,  on  the  25th  of 
April,  1838.  As  the  Church  with  which  I  am  connected  as 
pastor,  is  coeval  with  the  colony,  and  was  indeed  the  parent 
of  the  civil  state,  it  seemed  proper  for  me  to  notice  in  the 
pulpit  an  occasion  so  interesting.  In  compliance  therefore 
with  the  expressed  desires  of  many  without,  as  well  as  within, 
the  circle  of  my  pastoral  charge,  I  undertook  to  prepare  one 
or  more  discourses  illustrative  of  our  ecclesiastical  history, 
little  thinking  of  such  a  volume  as  this.  But  as  I  proceeded, 
from  one  SaW>ath  evening  to  another,  I  found  the  materials 
so  abundant,  and  the  expressions  of  interest  on  the  part  of 
the  hearers  were  so  strong,  that  my  discourses,  instead  of 
being,  according  to  my  first  expectation,  three  or  four,  be- 
came thirteen. 

The  interest,  not  to  say  the  value,  of  history,  depends 
chiefly  upon  details.  I  might  have  summed  up  the  history 
of  this  Church  in  a  few  paragraphs ;  but  in  that  form  it 
would  have  been  dry  and  unprofitable.  Need  I,  then,  apol- 
ogize, for  the  minuteness  of  this  history  ?  Why  may  not 
the  'annals  of  a  parish'  be  as  lively  with  illustrations  of 
human  nature,  and  as  rich  in  important  practical  lessons,  as 
the  annals  of  an  empire  ? 

If  in  speaking  of  the  fathers  of  New  England,  and  par- 
ticularly of  New  Haven,  I  have  insisted  more  on  their  vir- 
tues than  on  their  faults  and  errors,  it  is  partly  because  while 


their  faults  have  been  often  and  sufficiently  blazoned,  their 
virtues  have  been,  to  the  popular  mind,  but  imperfectly  il- 
lustrated ;  and  partly  because  we  in  this  age  are  far  more 
likely  to  forget  their  virtues,  than  to  adopt  their  errors,  or  to 
imitate  their  faults.  If  I  have  spoken  freely  of  the  secular 
constitution  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  of  the  evils^  re- 
sulting from  it  which  made  our  fathers  exiles,  it  is  no  more 
than  becomes  a  man  and  an  American ;  and  the  candid 
reader  will  observe,  that  in  so  doing,  I  have  not  spoken  at 
all  of  the  Episcopal  Church  as  it  is  organized  in  this  coun- 
try. I  am  far  from  imputing  to  American  bishops,  chosen 
by  the  people  of  their  charge,  and  responsible  to  those  who 
choose  them,  the  sins  of  English  prelates  under  the  Stuarts. 
A  man  might  even  believe  that  Laud  deserved  to  die  on  the 
scaffold  as  a  traitor  to  the  liberties  of  England,  and  yet  think 
none  the  worse  of  Bishop  White. 

Historical  Discourses,  even  though  prefaced  with  a  text  of 
Scripture,  are  not  sermons,  and  ought  not  to  be  judged  as  if 
they  were.  If  the  reader  finds  words  or  passages  unsuited 
to  the  gravity  of  the  pulpit,  he  may  be  reminded  that  the 
printed  book  is  not  exactly  what  was  uttered  in  the  congre- 
gation. More  than  half  the  volume  has  been  written  since 
the  last  of  the  discourses  was  delivered;  and  though  the 
original  form  has  been  retained,  the  expression  has  frequently 
been  changed,  and  the  didactic  and  religious  reflections,  ap- 
propriate to  the  time  and  place,  have  been  generally  omitted. 

The  sources  from  which  I  have  derived  my  information, 
are  generally  referred  to  in  marginal  notes.  Yet  in  this  place 
some  more  distinct  acknowledgment  seems  due  to  those,  by 
whose  labors  so  much  has  been  done  to  illustrate  the  early 
history  of  New  England.  But  why  should  I  speak  of  the 
many  occasional  discourses  which  have  treated  of  the  his- 
tory of  particular  towns  or  Churches,  or  of  the  more  stately 
and  elaborate  works  of  Trumbull,  Holmes,  and  Hutchinson  ? 
To  name  the  thirty  seven  volumes  of  the  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society ;  the  notes  on  Morton's  Memorial  by  Judge 
Davis ;  the  accurate  transcript  of  Winthrop's  History,  by  Mr. 


PREFACE.  V 

Savage,  with  the  vast  and  various  lore  in  the  notes  of  the 
transcriber,  is  to  praise  them  :  without  these  works  as  exam- 
ples of  what  diligence  can  do,  as  guides  showing  how  such 
investigations  are  to  be  conducted,  and  as  sources  of  infor- 
mation, I  should  have  done  nothing.  And  in  naming  the 
last  of  these  works,  I  am  reminded  of  my  obligations  to  the 
first  editor  of  Winthrop.  The  perusal  and  reperusal  of 
"  Winthrop's  Journal,"  together  with  the  study  of  Trumbull's 
first  volume,  made  me  feel  when  I  was  yet  a  boy,  that  the 
New  England  race  "is  sprung  of  earth's  best  blood."  And 
knowing  as  I  now  know,  under  what  disadvantages  that  first 
edition  was  published,  before  the  public  had  begun  to  be  in- 
terested in  such  documents,  before  even  Massachusetts  had  a 
historical  society,  by  the  unaided  enterprise  of  a  young  man 
to  whom  the  undertaking  was  attended  with  heavy  pecu- 
niary sacrifices ;  and  knowing  how  much  historical  inquiries 
in  New  England  have  been  stimulated  and  aided  by  that 
publication ;  I  cannot  but  regard  it  as  not  among  the  least  of 
the  many  debts  of  American  literature  to  the  now  venerable 
lexicographer.  Mr.  Savage's  more  perfect  and  more  fortunate 
edition,  the  fruit  of  years  of  learned  toil,  cheered  by  the  co- 
operation of  enthusiastic  antiquaries,  aided  by  appropriations 
from  the  treasury  of  a  generous  commonwealth,  and  greeted 
by  an  applauding  public  that  had  already  learned  to  honor 
its  ancestry,  needed  not  the  poor  recommendation  of  dispar- 
aging censures  upon  its  predecessor. 

I  must  be  allowed  to  add  my  acknowledgment  of  the  aid 
which  I  have  received  in  these  studies,  from  the  learning  and 
kindness  of  Professor  Kingsley.  Certainly  it  was  a  rare  priv- 
ilege, to  be  able  to  avail  myself  continually  of  hints  and 
counsels,  from  one  so  familiar  with  the  written  and  unwritten 
history  of  New  England,  and  especially  of  Connecticut. 

Some  of  my  friends  have  expressed  a  little  impatience  at 
the  delay  of  this  publication.  The  mere  magnitude  of  the 
volume  will  probably  be  to  them  a  sufficient  apology  for  the 
delay.  Had  1  been  told  twelve  months  ago,  that  within  a 
year  I  should  prepare  and  publish  such  a  volume,  gathering 


VI  PREFACE. 

the  materials  from  so  many  different  sources,  few  of  which 
I  had  at  that  time  even  explored,  I  should  have  smiled  at 
the  extravagance  of  the  prediction.  Yet  the  work  has  been 
done,  and  that  in  the  midst  of  public  labors  and  domestic 
cares. 

And  now  in  dismissing  the  last  page  of  a  work  which 
with  all  the  fatigues  and  midnight  vigils  it  has  cost  me,  has 
been  continually  pleasant,  I  desire  to  record  my  thanks  to 
the  divine  providence  which  has  permitted  me  to  begin  and 
finish  this  humble  memorial.  May  He  who  hath  said  that 
the  righteous  shall  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance,  accept 
the  unworthy  service. 

New  Haven,  February,  1839. 


CONTENTS. 


DISCOURSE  I. 

Page. 

Causes  of  the  colonization  of  New  England. — The  spirit  of  the  first 
planters,  -  1 

DISCOURSE  II. 

The  foundations  laid  in  Church  and  Commonwealth. — Constitution 
formed  in  Mr.  Newman's  barn.— The  Puritans,  -  -  17 

DISCOURSE  III. 

Ecclesiastical  forms  and  usages  of  the  first  age  in  New  England,      -          39 

DISCOURSE  IV. 

Specimens  of  Puritan  ministers  in  the  New  Haven  colony.  Prudden, 
Sherman,  James,  Eaton,  Hooke,  -  -  55 

DISCOURSE  V. 

John  Davenport  in  England,  in  Holland,  and  in  the  New  England 
synod  of  1637,  -  -  75 

DISCOURSE  VI. 

John  Davenport  and  Theophilus  Eaton  the  founders  of  a  new  republic : 

vicissitudes  in  New  Haven  till  1660,  -          90 

DISCOURSE  VII. 

John  Davenport  in  his  old  age,  the  protector  of  the  regicides,  the  op- 
ponent of  union  with  Connecticut,  the  champion  of  the  old  way 
against  the  synod  of  1662,  -  117 

DISCOURSE  VIII. 

Nicholas  Street. — The  first  generation  passing  away. — The  era  of  the 

war  with  King  Philip,          -  -  -        155 

DISCOURSE  IX. 

From  1684  to  1714. — James  Pierpont. — Causes  of  progressive  declen- 
sion, and  attempts  at  reformation. — Founding  of  Yale  College. — 
Formation  of  the  Saybrook  constitution,  -  -  171 

DISCOURSE  X. 

From  1714  to  1740. — Joseph  Noyes. — "  The  great  revival"  of  Presi- 
dent Edwards's  day,  ......  IQQ 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

DISCOURSE  XI. 

Page. 
Extravagances  and  confusion. — The  New  Haven  Church  divided. — 

Mr.  Noyes  in  his  old  age,    -  -  211 

DISCOURSE  XII. 

Chauncey  Whittelsey  and  his  ministry.— The  age  of  the  Revolution,  243 

DISCOURSE  XIII. 
James  Dana  at  Wallingford  and  New  Haven.— The   past  and  the 

present,         -                        -  -  267 

APPENDIX. 

I.  Davenport's  Discourse  about  civil  government,  -            -  289 

II.  The  primitive  ordinations  in  New  England,     -  -  293 

III.  Specimens  of  Church  discipline,   -  -  296 

IV.  The  primitive  meeting-house  in  New  Haven,  -  310 
V.  Notices  of  some  of  the  planters  of  New  Haven,  -            -  313 

VI.  John  Winthrop  of  Connecticut,  -  323 

VII.  Edward  Tench's  will  and  inventory,    -  -  327 

VIII.  Treatment  of  the  Indians,          -  -  330 

IX.  Governor  Eaton,  -  354 

X.  The  statement  of  the  New  Haven  colony,        -  -  358 

XI.  Letters  from  John  Davenport  to  Gov.  Winthrop,  -            -  366 

Additional  notices,  -  387 

XII.  Madam  Noyes,  -  391 

XIII.  Dr.  Dana's  Installation,  -  393 

Miscellaneous  corrections  and  additions,             -  -  398 


DISCOURSE   I. 

CAUSES    OF    THE   COLONIZATION  OF    NEW  ENGLAND. THE  SPIRIT 

OF    THE    FIRST    PLANTERS. 

PSALM  Ixxx,  8— 11.— Thou  hast  brought  a  vine  out  of  Egypt;  thou  hast 
cast  out  the  heathen  and  planted  it.  Thou  preparedst  room  before  it,  and 
didst  cause  it  to  take  deep  root,  and  it  filled  the  land.  The  hills  were  cov- 
ered with  the  shadow  of  it;  and  the  boughs  thereof  were  like  the  goodly 
cedars.  She  sent  out  her  boughs  to  the  sea  and  her  branches  to  the  river. 

THIS  is  the  first  Sabbath  in  the  third  century  of  the  history 
of  this  religious  congregation.  Two  hundred  years  have  just 
been  completed  since  the  fathers  and  founders  of  this  Church 
first  united  in  public  worship,  on  the  spot  which  they  had 
chosen  for  their  home,  and  to  which  they  had  borne  the  ark 
and  the  ordinances  of  their  God.  Within  these  two  centu- 
ries, great  revolutions — one  after  another — have  changed  the 
aspect  of  the  world  ;  thrones  have  been  overturned,  dynasties 
have  arisen  and  passed  away ;  empires  have  been  reared  and 
have  fallen ;  nations  have  perished,  and  nations  have  been 
born ;  and,  what  is  more,  opinions,  systems,  dynasties  and 
and  empires  in  the  world  of  thought,  have  flourished  and 
have  departed ;  but  amid  all  these  changes,  God  has  been 
worshiped  here  through  Jesus  Christ,  from  Sabbath  to  Sab- 
bath, with  no  recorded  interruption.  The  fire  of  pure  and 
spiritual  worship,  kindled  by  the  founders  of  this  Church  so 
long  ago,  still  burns  upon  their  altar  and  amid  their  graves. 

On  such  an  occasion,  I  need  offer  no  apology  for  departing 
somewhat  from  the  usual  forms  and  topics  of  pulpit  instruc- 
tion. I  propose  to  speak  of  the  various  causes  which  led  to 
the  founding  of  this  Church,  and  of  the  character  of  those  who 
in  successive  generations  have  maintained  its  ordinances  and 
enjoyed  its  privileges.  And  as  I  wish  to  make  the  occasion 
instructive  to  all,  to  the  less  informed  as  well  as  to  those  who 
have  had  greater  advantages,  I  shall  freely  enter  into  the 
1 


statement  of  some  historical  details,  with  which  many  are 
entirely  familiar. 

This  western  world — America — was  discovered  by  Colum- 
bus, near  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  (A.  D.  1492. ) 
The  discovery  of  America  was  preceded  by  the  invention  of 
the  art  of  printing,  (A.  D.  1455,  the  date  of  the  first  printed 
book,)  and  by  the  revival  of  learning  in  Europe  which  ensued 
upon  the  capture  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks  and  the 
extinction  of  the  Greek  Christian  empire,  (A.  D.  1453,)  and 
the  consequent  dispersion  of  learned  Greeks  over  Europe ; 
and  it  was  very  soon  followed  by  the  commencement  of  the 
Protestant  Reformation,  (A.  D.  1517.)  These  four  great 
events,  occurring  within  the  compass  of  a  single  lifetime,  have 
wrought,  by  their  combined  influence,  such  changes  in  the 
condition  of  the  world,  that  the  age  in  which  they  occurred 
is  the  most  memorable  in  the  annals  of  mankind,  save  only 
the  age  in  which  the  world  was  redeemed  by  the  Son  of  God. 

When  America  was  discovered  by  the  Spaniards,  the  trop- 
ical regions,  from  Mexico  to  Brazil,  enjoying  a  climate  without 
any  winter,  rich  in  all  the  natural  means  of  subsistence  arid 
enjoyment,  abounding  in  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones, 
adorned  in  some  places  with  temples  and  palaces  and  popu- 
lous cities,  and  inhabited  by  nations  whose  half-armed  effemi- 
nacy, could  offer  no  effectual  resistance  to  the  strength  of 
European  warriors,  clad  in  iron,  and  equipped  with  the  terri- 
fic implements  of  modern  warfare,  presented  such  a  field  as 
was  never  before  opened  to  human  rapacity.  In  a  few  years, 
the  Spanish  monarchy,  by  invasion  and  violence,  by  cruelty 
and  treachery,  had  become  possessed  of  vast  provinces  and 
rich  dependent  kingdoms  in  America.  Portugal,  then  one  of 
the  most  considerable  powers  of  Christendom,  had  at  the  same 
time  laid  the  foundations  of  her  great  western  empire.  What 
effect  the  planting  of  such  colonies,  founded  in  rapine,  and 
moulded  by  the  combined  influences  of  Popery  in  religion  and 
of  despotism  in  government,  has  had  on  the  progress  of  the 
world  in  freedom,  knowledge,  and  happiness,  I  need  not  show 
in  detail.  Those  colonies  and  conquests  poured  back  indeed 


3 

upon  the  parent  empires,  broad  streams  of  wealth ;  and  Spain 
and  Portugal  with  their  possessions  in  the  west,  were  for  a 
few  short  ages  the  envy  of  the  world.  But  all  prosperity, 
whether  of  individuals  or  of  nations,  that  does  not  spring  from 
honest  industry  and  from  the  arts  of  peace,  brings  curses  in  its 
train.  The  wealth  which  Spain  and  Portugal  derived  from 
their  possessions  in  America  has  been  their  ruin.  And  from 
the  hour  in  which  they,  weak  and  paralyzed,  were  no  longer 
able  to  retain  their  grasp  upon  their  American  provinces — 
from  the  hour  in  which  the  various  countries  from  Mexico  to 
Brazil  became  independent,  what  a  sea  of  anarchy  has  been 
tossing  its  waves  over  those  wide  realms,  so  gorgeous  with 
the  lavished  wealth  of  nature.  It  may  even  be  doubted 
whether  there  is,  at  this  hour,  in  Mexico  or  in  Peru,  a  more 
stable  and  beneficent  government,  or  a  more  numerous,  com- 
fortable and  virtuous  population,  than  there  was  before  the 
atrocious  conquests  of  Cortez  and  Pizarro.  What  substantial 
benefit  has  accrued  to  the  world  from  the  planting  of  Spanish 
colonies  in  America  ?  What,  beyond  the  benefit  of  having 
one  more  illustration,  on  the  grandest  scale,  of  the  truth  so 
often  illustrated  in  history,  that  to  nations,  as  to  individuals, 
the  wages  of  crime  is  death. 

The  success  of  Spain,  and  the  reports  of  adventurers  who 
came  back  to  Europe  enriched  with  spoils,  excited  the  cupi- 
dity of  other  nations  to  similar  enterprises.  England,  among 
the  rest,  was  ambitious  to  have  tributary  provinces  in  the 
new  world,  from  which  gold  and  gems  should  come,  to  fill 
the  treasury  of  her  king,  and  to  augment  the  riches  and  splen- 
dor of  her  nobility.  One  expedition  after  another  was  plan- 
ned and  undertaken,  in  the  hope  of  acquiring  some  country 
which  should  be  to  England,  what  Mexico  and  Peru  had 
been  to  Spain.  And  when  in  consequence  of  successive  and 
most  discouraging  failures,  such  hopes  began  to  be  abandoned ; 
and  plans  of  colonization,  and  cultivation,  and  rational  com- 
merce, had  succeeded  to  dreams  of  romantic  conquest  and 
adventure — when  commercial  companies  with  royal  grants 
and  charters,  actuated  by  ordinary  commercial  motives,  at- 


tempted  to  establish  settlements  in  North  Carolina  and  Vir- 
ginia, and  upon  the  bleak  coast  of  Maine,  the  disappointments 
and  disasters  which  ensued,  demonstrated  that  another  call, 
and  another  sort  of  charter,  and  other  and  higher  impulses, 
were  necessary  to  success.  Commercial  enterprise,  cheered 
by  royal  patronage,  and  availing  itself  of  the  genius  of  Ra- 
leigh and  the  adventurous  energy  of  Smith,  sent  forth  its  ex- 
peditions without  success.  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary 
place  would  not  be  glad  for  them,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  sav- 
age was  to  roam  over  these  wilds  forever. 

But  the  fullness  of  time  was  approaching.  Other  causes, 
the  working  of  which  was  obvious  to  all,  but  the  tendency  of 
which  no  human  mind  had  conjectured,  were  operating  to 
secure  for  religion,  for  freedom,  and, for  science  too,  their  fair- 
est home,  and  the  field  of  their  brightest  achievements. 

The  reformation  from  Popery,  which  Wychffe  attempted  in 
the  fourteenth  century,  and  for  which  Huss  and  Jerome  of 
Prague  were  martyrs  in  the  fifteenth,  was  successfully  begun 
by  Luther  in  Germany,  and  by  Zuingle  in  Switzerland,  about 
the  year  1517 — twenty-five  years  after  the  discovery  of  Amer- 
ica. The  minds  of  men  having  been  prepared  beforehand,  not 
only  by  the  writings  of  Wycliffe  and  the  martyrdom  of  Huss 
and  Jerome,  but  also  by  the  new  impulse  and  independence 
which  had  been  given  to  thought  in  consequence  of  the  revival 
of  learning  then  in  progress,  and  by  the  excitement  which  the 
discovery  of  a  new  world,  and  of  new  paths  and  regions  for 
commerce,  had  spread  over  Europe  ;  and  the  invention  of 
printing  having  provided  a  new  instrumentality  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  and  the  promotion  of  free  inquiry — only  a 
few  years  elapsed  from  the  time  when  Luther  in  the  univer- 
sity of  Wittemberg,  and  Zuingle  in  the  cathedral  of  Zurich, 
made  their  first  efforts,  before  all  Europe  was  convulsed  with 
the  progress  of  a  great  intellectual  and  moral  emancipation. 

The  reformation  was  essentially  the  assertion  of  the  right 
of  individual  thought  and  opinion,  founded  on  the  doctrine  of 
individual  responsibility.  Popery  puts  the  consciences  of  the 
laity  into  the  keeping  of  the  priesthood.  To  the  priest  you 


5 

are  to  confess  your  sins  ;  from  him  you  are  to  receive  penance 
and  forgiveness ;  he  is  to  be  responsible  for  you,  if  you  do  as 
he  bids  you ;  to  him  you  are  to  commit  the  guidance  and 
government  of  your  soul,  with  implicit  submission.  Life  and 
immortality  are  only  in  the  sacraments  which  he  dispenses  ; 
death  and  eternal  despair  are  in  his  malediction.  You  are  to 
do  what  he  enjoins ;  you  are  to  believe  what  he  teaches  ;  he 
is  accountable  to  God — you  are  accountable  to  him.  The 
reformation,  on  the  contrary,  puts  the  Bible  into  every  man's 
hand,  and  bids  him  believe,  not  what  the  priesthood  declares, 
not  what  the  Church  decrees,  but  what  God  reveals.  It  tells 
him,  Here  is  God's  word ;  and  for  your  deception  or  rejection 
of  it,  you  are  individually  and  directly  accountable  to  God. 
Thus  it  was  that  from  the  beginning — though  princes  and 
statesmen  did  not  always  so  regard  it — the  cause  of  the  refor- 
mation was  every  where  essentially  the  cause  of  freedom, 
of  manly  thought,  and  bold  inquiry ;  of  popular  improvement, 
of  universal  education.  When  religion,  instead  of  being  an 
affair  between  man  and  his  priest,  becomes  an  affair  between 
man  and  his  God ;  the  dignity  of  man  as  man  at  once  out- 
shines the  dignity  of  pontiffs  and  of  kings.  By  the  doctrine 
of  the  reformation,  men  though  fallen  and  miserable  in  their 
native  estate,  are  yet,  in  the  estate  to  which  they  are  raised  as 
redeemed  by  Christ,  as  emancipated  by  the  truth,  and  as 
anointed  by  the  Holy  Spirit — "kings  and  priests  unto  God." 

In  England — always  to  be  named  with  reverential  affection 
as  the  father-land  of  our  fathers — the  seeds  of  truth  and  spiri- 
tual freedom,  sown  by  Wycliffe  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
before  Luther's  time,  were  never  entirely  extirpated.  And 
when  Germany  and  Switzerland  began  to  be  agitated  with 
the  great  discussions  of  the  reformation,  men  were  soon  found 
in  England,  who  sympathized  with  the  reformers,  and  se- 
cretly or  openly  adopted  their  principles.  But  in  that  country, 
peculiar  circumstances  gave  to  the  reformation  of  the  national 
Church  a  peculiar  form  and  aspect. 

The  English  king  at  that  period,  was  Henry  VIII.  He 
was,  for  a  prince,  uncommonly  well  educated  in  the  scholastic 


6 

learning  of  the  age  ;  and  not  long  after  the  commencement  of 
the  reformation,  he  signalized  himself,  and  obtained  from  the 
Pope  the  honorary  title  of  "Defender  of  the  Faith,"  by  wri- 
ting a  Latin  volume  in  confutation  of  the  heresies  of  Luther. 
But  afterwards,  wishing  to  put  away  his  wife  on  account  of 
some  pretended  scruple  of  conscience,  and  not  being  able  to 
obtain  a  divorce  by  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  who  had  strong 
political  reasons  for  evading  a  compliance  with  his  wishes,  he 
quarreled  with  the  Pope,  (1529,)  and  began  to  reform  after  a 
fashion  of  his  own.  Without  renouncing  any  doctrine  of  the 
Romish  Church,  he  declared  the  Church  of  England  inde- 
pendent of  the  see  of  Rome ;  he  assumed  all  ecclesiastical 
power  into  his  own  hands,  making  himself  head  of  the  Church ; 
he  confiscated  the  lands  and  treasures  of  the  monasteries ;  he 
brought  the  bishops  into  an  abject  dependence  on  his  power ; 
he  exercised  the  prerogative  of  allowing  or  restraining  at  his 
pleasure  the  circulation  and  use  of  the  Scriptures ;  and,  with 
impartial  fury,  he  persecuted  those  who  adhered  to  the  Pope, 
and  those  who  abjured  the  errors  of  Popery.  The  religion 
of  the  Church  of  England,  under  his  administration,  was  Po- 
pery, with  the  king  for  pope. 

During  the  short  reign  of  Edward  VI,  (1547,)  or  rather  of 
the  regents  who  governed  England  in  his  name,  the  king 
himself  being  under  age,  the  reformation  of  the  English 
Church  was  commenced  with  true  good- will,  and  carried  for- 
ward as  energetically  and  rapidly  as  was  consistent  with  dis- 
cretion. Thus  when  the  bloody  dueen  Mary  succeeded  to 
the  throne,  (1553,)  and  attempted  to  restore,  by  sword  and 
faggot,  the  ancient  superstition,  hundreds  were  found  who 
followed  the  protomartyr  Rogers,  and  like  him  sealed  their 
testimony  at  the  stake  ;  and  hundreds  more,  of  ministers  and 
other  intelligent  and  conscientious  men,  having  the  opportu- 
nity of  flight,  found  refuge  for  a  season  in  the  various  Protes- 
tant countries  of  the  continent.  At  the  places  at  which  these 
exiles  were  hospitably  received,  and  particularly  at  Geneva, 
they  became  familiar  with  forms  of  worship,  and  of  disci- 
pline, more  completely  purified  from  Popery,  than  the  forms 


which  had  as  yet  been  adopted  or  permitted  in  their  native 
country.  Among  the  English  exiles  in  the  city  of  Frankfort, 
who  had  the  privilege  of  uniting  in  public  worship  in  their 
own  language,  there  arose  a  difference  of  opinion.  Some 
were  for  a  strict  conformity  of  their  public  services  to  the  or- 
der which  had  been  established  in  England  under  King 
Edward,  while  others  considered  themselves  at  liberty  to  lay 
aside  every  thing  which  savored  of  superstition,  and  to  imitate 
the  simplicity  which  characterized  the  Reformed  Churches 
around  them.  These  were  denominated  by  their  adversaries, 
"  Puritans  j"  and  the  dispute  at  Frankfort  in  the  year  1554, 
is  commonly  regarded  by  historians  as  marking  the  beginning 
of  the  Puritan  party. 

When  the  reign  of  dueen  Elizabeth  commenced,  (1558,) 
the  exiles  returned,  expecting  that  a  princess  educated  in  the 
Protestant  faith,  whose  title  to  the  throne  was  identified  with 
the  Protestant  cause,  would  energetically  carry  forward  the 
reformation  which  had  been  begun  under  the  reign  of  her 
brother,  but  which  by  his  premature  death  had  been  left  con- 
fessedly imperfect.  This  expectation  was  disappointed.  The 
new  Queen  was  more  the  daughter  of  Henry  than  the  sister 
of  Edward.  She  seemed  to  dislike  nothing  of  Popery  but 
its  inconsistency  with  her  title  to  the  throne,  and  its  claims 
against  her  ecclesiastical  supremacy.  The  doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  England,  as  set  forth  in  its  articles,  were  indeed 
truly  and  thoroughly  Protestant,  being  originally  conformed 
to  the  views  of  Calvin  and  other  illustrious  reformers  on  the 
continent ;  but  the  discipline  was  not  reformed — no  ade- 
quate provision  being  made  for  excluding  the  unworthy  from 
communion  in  sacraments,  or  for  securing  to  the  people  an 
intelligent,  evangelical,  teaching  clergy  ;  the  liturgy  was  only 
partially  reformed — it  being  made  to  follow,  more  closely  than 
in  King  Edward's  time,  the  Popish  missals  from  which  it  had 
been  compiled  and  translated ;  and  finally  the  vestments  and 
ceremonies  which  in  the  popular  mind  were  inseparably  asso- 
ciated with  superstitious  notions,  and  against  which  the  Pu- 
ritans had  a  strong  dislike,  were  scrupulously  enjoined  and 


8 

maintained.  Those  ministers  who,  in  any  particular,  neg- 
lected to  conform  to  the  prescribed  ceremonies  and  observ- 
ances, were  called  "Non-conformists ;"  and  though  their  non- 
conformity was  sometimes  connived  at  by  this  or  that  more 
lenient  bishop,  and  sometimes  went  unpunished  because  of 
the  danger  of  exciting  popular  odium,  every  such  minister 
was  always  liable  to  be  suspended  or  silenced ;  and  many  of 
them,  though  the  ablest  and  most  efficient  preachers  in  the 
kingdom,  at  a  time  when  not  more  than  one  out  of  four  of 
the  clergy  could  preach  at  all,*  were  forbidden  to  preach,  and 
were  deprived  of  all  their  employments. 

The  Puritans,  it  will  be  remembered,  were  not  a  secession 
from  the  Church  of  England ;  they  were  only  that  party 
within  the  Church,  which  demanded  a  more  thorough  refor- 
mation. Their  hopes  as  a  party  were  kept  alive,  not  only  by 
the  consciousness  that  the  force  of  argument  was  on  their 
side,  with  no  inferiority  in  respect  to  talents  and  learning ; 
but  partly  by  the  growing  popularity  of  their  opinions ;  partly 
by  the  favor  of  those  politic  and  far-seeing  statesmen,  who, 
so  far  as  the  Q-ueen's  willfulness  would  permit,  controlled  her 
government  by  their  counsels ;  and  partly  by  the  prospect 
that  the  Queen's  successor  on  the  throne  might  be  himself  a 
Puritan. 

James  Stuart,  King  of  Scotland,  became  King  of  England 
on  the  death  of  dueen  Elizabeth  in  1 603.  As  he  had  reigned 
over  a  kingdom  thoroughly  reformed,  and  had  been  educated 
under  influences  favorable  to  the  simplest  and  strictest  forms 
of  the  Protestant  religion,  and  had  often  professed  in  the 
most  solemn  manner  a  hearty  attachment  to  those  forms,  it 
was  hoped,  notwithstanding  his  known  instability  of  charac- 
ter and  his  fondness  for  the  pomp  and  forms  of  kingly  power, 
that  he  might  be  inclined  to  bring  the  ecclesiastical  state  of 
England,  in  its  discipline  and  worship,  nearer  the  pattern  of 
the  reformed  Churches.  Accordingly  while  he  was  on  his 
way  to  the  metropolis  of  his  new  kingdom,  he  was  met  with 

*  Hallam,  Constitutional  History  of  England,  I,  270. 


9 

a  petition  signed  by  more  than  eight  hundred  ministers  of  the 
Church  of  England,  praying  for  the  reformation  of  certain  par- 
ticulars in  worship  and  discipline,  but  not  aimed  at  all  against 
the  principle  of  prelacy,  or  the  principle  of  prescribed  forms  of 
public  prayer.  Not  one  of  the  least  of  these  requests  was 
granted ;  on  the  contrary,  the  Puritans  soon  found  that  the 
chances  of  hereditary  succession  had  placed  over  them  as  their 
king,  a  low  minded,  vain-glorious,  pedantic  fool,  to  whom  the 
more  than  oriental  adulation  with  which  courtly  prelates 
fawned  upon  him,  was  dearer  than  the  honor  of  God  and  the 
welfare  of  the  people.  A  specimen  of  what  they  might  ex- 
pect under  his  reign  was  given,  in  the  imprisonment  of  ten  of 
the  ministers  who  had  presented  the  reasonable  and  moderate 
petition  for  reform — the  offense  of  presenting  such  a  petition 
having  been  declared  in  the  Star-chamber  to  be  "  fineable  at 
discretion,  and  very  near  to  treason  and  felony,  as  it  tended 
to  sedition  and  rebellion."* 

From  such  persecution,  pious  and  resolute  men  who  loved 
liberty  and  purity  even  more  than  they  loved  their  native 
soil,  soon  began  to  retreat  into  other  countries.  Some  had 
begun  to  separate  themselves  professedly  from  the  Church  of 
England,  as  despairing  of  its  reformation,  and  to  organize 
themselves  independently  of  the  civil  state,  framing  their 
ecclesiastical  institutions  according  to  their  own  understand- 
ing of  the  word  of  God.  A  small  congregation  of  such  per- 
sons, "finding  by  experience  that  they  could  not  peaceably 
enjoy  their  own  liberty  in  their  native  country,"  removed 
with  their  families  from  the  North  of  England  into  Holland, 
and  in  the  year  1610  settled  themselves  in  the  city  of  Ley- 
den;  "and  there,"  in  the  language  of  one  of  them,  "they 
continued  divers  years  in  a  comfortable  condition,  enjoying 
much  sweet  society  and  spiritual  comfort  in  the  ways  of 
God;"  "having  for  their  pastor  Mr.  John  Robinson,  a  man 
of  a  learned,  polished  and  modest  spirit,  pious,  and  studying 
of  the  truth,  largely  accomplished  with  spiritual  gifts  arid 

*  Hallam,  I,  406. 

2 


10 

qualifications  to  be  a  shepherd  over  this  flock  of  Christ ; 
having  also  a  fellow  helper  with  him  in  the  eldership,  Mr. 
William  Brewster,  a  man  of  approved  piety,  gravity  and  sin- 
cerity, very  eminently  furnished  with  gifts  suitable  to  such 
an  office."* 

This  little  Church,  after  a  few  years'  residence  in  Holland, 
finding  that  in  the  city  of  strangers  where  they  were  so  hos- 
pitably received,  they  labored  under  many  disadvantages, 
especially  in  regard  to  the  education  of  their  children,  and 
moved  also  by  "  a  great  hope  and  inward  zeal  they  had  of 
laying  some  good  foundation,  or  at  least  to  make  some  way 
thereunto,  for  the  propagating  and  advancement  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ,"  "  yea,  although  they  should  be  but  as  step- 
ping stones  unto  others  for  the  performance  of  so  great  a 
work," — determined  on  a  removal  to  America ;  and  on  the 
22d  of  December,  1620,  one  hundred  of  the  Leyden  pilgrims, 
including  men,  women,  and  little  children,  landed  from  the 
Mayflower  on  the  rock  of  Plymouth.  Then  first  the  ark  of 
God  rested  upon  the  soil  of  New  England,  and  made  it  "  holy 
ground."  Let  the  annual  return  of  that  wintry  day  be  bright 
in  the  hearts  of  the  sons  of  New  England, 

"  Till  the  waves  of  the  bay  where  the  Mayflower  lay 
Shall  foam  and  freeze  no  more." 

Meanwhile  the  Puritans  in  England  were  striving  and  suf- 
fering in  vain.  Reluctant,  for  the  most  part,  to  admit  the 
idea  of  separation  from  the  national  Church,  they  waited  and 
prayed,  and  struggled  to  obtain  a  more  perfect  reformation. 
Their  cause  grew  in  favor  with  the  people  and  with  the 
Parliament,  for  it  was  felt  to  be  the  cause  of  Protestantism, 
of  sobriety  and  godliness,  and  of  civil  liberty.  But  the  mon- 
arch, and  those  dependent  creatures  of  the  monarch,  the  pre- 
lates, appointed  by  his  pleasure,  and  accountable  to  him  alone, 

*  Morton's  Memorial.  The  pastor  of  the  Leyden  pilgrims  never  came  to 
New  England.  His  son  Isaac  Robinson  was  however  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Scituate,  in  Plymouth  colony.  From  Isaac  Robinson  was  descended 
the  mother  of  the  second  Governor  Trumbull. 


11 

were  steady  in  the  determination  to  have  no  reform,  and  to 
enforce  submission.  Five  years  after  the  settlement  of  Ply- 
mouth, King  James  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Charles  I,  who 
with  more  gravity  and  respectability  of  personal  character 
than  belonged  to  his  father,  pursued  the  same  despotic  policy, 
in  the  Church,  and  in  the  civil  state,  which  made  his  father 
odious  as  well  as  contemptible.  His  principal  adviser  was 
William  Laud,  a  narrow  minded  aud  bitter  enemy  of  all  who 
desired  any  farther  reformation  in  ecclesiastical  discipline, 
a  systematic  corrupter  of  the  established  doctrines  of  the 
Church,  a  superstitious  promoter  of  pomp  and  ceremony  in 
religion,  more  a  friend  to  Rome  than  to  Geneva  or  to  Augs- 
burg, a  hater  of  popular  rights  and  of  the  ancient  liberties 
and  common  law  of  England,  and  the  constant  adviser  of  all 
arbitrary  methods  of  government.  This  man,  being  made 
bishop  of  London,  and  afterwards  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  having  the  king  almost  absolutely  under  his  control, 
brought  the  despotic  powers  of  the  Star-chamber  and  of  the 
High  Commission  Court  to  bear  with  new  terrors,  not  only 
upon  non-conforming  clergymen,  but  upon  men  of  other 
professions  who  dared  to  express  an  opinion  in  favor  of  re- 
formation.* 


*  William  Prynne,  Esq.,  a  barrister  at  law,  for  writing  a  learned  but  tedi- 
ous book  entitled  Histriomastix,  against  plays,  masques,  dancing,  and  other 
things  of  the  same  kind,  which  was  construed  into  a  libel  on  the  Queen,  in- 
asmuch as  her  majesty  was  a  patron  of  such  diversions, — was  condemned 
in  the  Star-chamber  "  to  have  his  .book  burnt  by  the  hands  of  the  common 
hangman,  to  be  put  from  the  bar,  and  to  be  forever  incapable  of  his  profes- 
sion, to  be  turned  out  of  the  society  in  Lincoln's-Inn,  to  be  degraded  at 
Oxford,  to  stand  on  the  pillory  at  Westminster  and  Cheapside,  to  lose  both 
his  ears,  one  in  each  place,  to  pay  a  fine  of  five  thousand  pounds,  and  to 
suffer  perpetual  imprisonment."  This  was  in  1633.  Neal,  II,  276. 

A  few  months  afterwards,  Dr.  Bastwick,  a  physician,  having  published  a 
book  which  denied  the  divine  right  of  bishops  as  an  order  superior  to  pres- 
byters, was  condemned  by  the  High  Commission  to  be  excluded  from  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  to  be  excommunicated,  to  be  fined  a  thousand 
pounds,  and  to  be  imprisoned  till  he  should  recant.  Ibid,  278. 

Three  years  before,  Dr.  Alexander  Leighton,  a  Scotch  divine,  whose  son 
was  afterwards  the  excellent  Archbishop  Leighton — for  having  published  a 
book  against  prelacy,  had  suffered  a  still  more  cruel  punishment.  The  book 


12 

In  these  circumstances,  the  same  spirit  that  had  led  the 
Pilgrims  of  Leyden  to  Plymouth,  led  others,  in  greater  num- 
bers, and  with  more  adequate  means,  to  attempt  the  estab- 
lishment of  religious  colonies  in  America.  Eight  years  after 
the  settlement  of  Plymouth,  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
was  commenced  by  Endicott  and  his  company  at  Salem ; 
and  in  1630,  Boston  and  the  surrounding  towns  were  occu- 
pied by  the  illustrious  Winthrop  and  the  hundreds  of  emi- 
grants who  followed  him.  In  1635,  the  first  beginnings 
were  made  on  the  Connecticut  river,  at  Hartford  and  at  Say- 
brook;  and  in  1638,  on  the  15th  of  April,  (Old  Style,)  that 
being  the  Lord's  day,  there  was  heard  upon  this  spot  the 
voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  Lord ;  and  under  the  open  sky,  bright  with  the 
promise  of  a  new  era  of  light  and  liberty,  a  Christian  con- 
gregation, led  by  a  devoted,  learned  and  eloquent  minister 
of  Christ,  raised  their  hearts  to  God  in  prayer,  and  mingled 
their  voices  in  praise. 

How  easily  may  the  imagination,  acquainted  with  these 
localities,  and  with  the  characters  and  circumstances  of  the 
men  who  were  present  on  that  occasion,  run  back  over  the 
two  centuries  that  have  passed,  and  bring  up  the  picture  of 
that  first  Sabbath !  Look  out  upon  the  smooth  harbor  of 
duinnipiack.  It  lies  embosomed  in  a  wilderness.  Two  or 
three  small  vessels,  having  in  their  appearance  nothing  of 
the  characteristic  grace,  lightness  and  life  of  the  well  known 


appears  to  have  had  a  pretty  strong  savor  of  Scotch  acrimony  ;  and  the  au- 
thor was  censured  accordingly.  The  unanimous  judgment  of  the  Star- 
chamber  was,  that  he  should  "  pay  a  fine  of  ten  thousand  pounds  ;  that  the 
High  Commission  should  degrade  him  from  his  ministry  ;  and  that  then  he 
should  be  brought  to  the  pillory  at  Westminster,  while  the  Court  was  sitting, 
and  whipped  ;  after  whipping  be  set  upon  the  pillory  a  convenient  time,  and 
have  one  of  his  ears  cut  off,  one  side  of  his  nose  slit,  and  be  branded  in  the 
face  with  a  double  S.  S.  for  a  sower  of  sedition  :  that  then  be  should  be 
carried  back  to  prison,  and  after  a  few  days  be  pilloried  a  second  time  in 
Cheapside,  and  be  then  likewise  whipped,  and  have  the  other  side  of  his 
nose  slit,  and  his  other  ear  cut  off,  and  then  be  shut  up  in  close  prison  for 
the  remainder  of  his  life."  Ibid,  235, 


13 

American  vessels  which  are  in  these  days  found  shooting 
over  every  sea,  lie  anchored  in  the  distance.  Here,  along 
the  margin  of  a  creek,  are  a  few  tents,  and  some  two  or 
three  rude  huts,  with  the  boxes  and  luggage  that  were 
landed  yesterday,  piled  up  around  them ;  and  here  and  there 
a  little  column  of  smoke,  going  up  in  the  still  morning  air, 
shows  that  the  inmates  are  in  motion.  Yet  all  is  quiet ; 
though  the  sun  is  up,  there  is  no  appearance  of  labor  or  bu- 
siness ;  for  it  is  the  Sabbath.  By  and  by  the  stillness  is  bro- 
ken by  the  beating  of  a  drum ;  and  from  the  tents  and  from 
the  vessels,  a  congregation  comes  gathering  around  a  spread- 
ing oak.  The  aged  and  the  honored  are  seated  near  the 
ministers  ;  the  younger,  and  those  of  inferior  condition,  find 
their  places  farther  back ;  for  the  defense  of  all,  there  are  men 
in  armor,  each  with  his  heavy  unwieldy  gun,  and  one  and 
another  with  a  smoking  matchlock.  What  a  congregation 
is  this,  to  be  gathered  in  the  wilds  of  New  England.  Here 
are  men  and  women  who  have  been  accustomed  to  the 
luxuries  of  wealth  in  a  metropolis,  and  to  the  refinements 
of  a  court.  Here  are  ministers  who  have  disputed  in  the 
universities,  and  preached  under  Gothic  arches  in  London. 
These  men  and  women  have  come  into  a  wilderness,  to  face 
new  dangers,  to  encounter  new  temptations.  They  look  to 
God  ;  and  words  of  solemn  prayer  go  up,  responding  to  the 
murmurs  of  the  woods  and  of  the  waves.  They  look  to  God 
whose  mercy  and  faithfulness  have  brought  them  to  their 
land  of -promise, — and  for  the  first  time  since  the  creation, 
the  echoes  of  these  hills  and  waters  are  wakened  by  the 
voice  of  praise.  The  word  of  God  is  opened ;  and  their 
faith  and  hope  are  strengthened  for  the  conflicts  before  them, 
by  contemplating  the  conflict  and  the  victory  of  Him,  who, 
in  all  things  the  example  of  his  people,  was  once,  like  them, 
"  led  forth  by  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of 
the  Devil."* 


*  Mr.  Davenport's  sermon  on  the  first  Sabbath  after  the  landing,  was  from 
Matt,  iv,  1,  "  on  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness."     Kingsley,  80. 


14 

Of  the  many  Puritans  who  came  to  New  England  at  its 
first  planting,  none,  save  the  Pilgrims  of  Plymouth,  had  re- 
nounced the  Church  of  England,  or  separated  themselves 
from  its  communion.  None,  save  those  of  Plymouth,  came 
with  their  ecclesiastical  institutions  already  organized.  The 
Church  of  which  Robinson  was  pastor,  and  Brewster  ruling 
elder,  was  formed  in  England,  on  the  principle  of  separating 
from  the  establishment,  and  renouncing  all  connection  with 
it ;  and  when  they  came  to  America,  they  came  as  English- 
men indeed,  loving  their  native  country,  but  not  as  sustain- 
ing any  relation  to  the  Church  of  England,  from  which  they 
had  long  before  come  out  to  be  separate.  The  others,  how- 
ever, those  of  Salem  and  Boston,  those  of  Connecticut,  and 
those  of  New  Haven,  while  they  '/  came  over  with  a  pro- 
fessed intention  of  practising  church  reformation," — came 
not  as  separatists ;  they  disavowed  such  an  imputation  as 
slanderous  ;  they  declared  that  "  they  did  not  separate  from 
the  Church  of  England,  nor  from  the  ordinances  of  God 
there,  but  only  from  the  corruptions  and  disorders  there." 
In  England,  the  difference  between  the  separatists  and  the 
non-conformists  was  a  difference  of  no  trivial  moment.  The 
practical  question  upon  which  they  were  divided,  was  a  ques- 
tion involving  great  principles.  To  the  separatist,  the  mere 
non-conformist  was  one  who  had  communion  with  idolatry, 
and  with  a  systematized  usurpation  of  the  rights  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  head  of  the  Church.  To  the  non-conformist,  the 
separatist  was  one  who  divided  the  body  of  Christ,  and  tore 
himself  away  not  only  from  that  which  was  corrupt  and  dis- 
orderly in  the  Church,  but  from  the  Church  itself,  and  from 
the  ordinances  there.  And  when  men  who  suffer  in  the 
same  cause,  are  divided  in  respect  to  the  great,  practical  prin- 
ciples by  which  that  cause  is  to  be  promoted,  the  division 
cuts  to  the  quick,  and  often  produces  the  most  painful  and 
lasting  alienations.  But  in  the  free  air  of  New  England,  the 
division  between  the  separatist  and  the  non-conformist  was 
at  an  end.  The  Pilgrims  of  Plymouth  and  the  Puritans  of 
Salem  greeted  each  other  with  a  cordial  welcome,  and  forgot 


15 

that  there  had  ever  been  a  difference  between  them.  They 
all  felt,  whether  upon  the  Bay  or  upon  the  River,  whether 
at  Plymouth  or  at  New  Haven,  that  they  had  come  into  the 
same  wilderness,  in  the  face  of  the  same  dangers,  for  the 
same  high  end,  "  freedom  to  worship  God" — freedom  to  build 
the  house  of  God  according  to  the  pattern  of  God's  word. 
And  here  by  their  united  prayers,  by  their  free  and  strenuous 
investigations  and  their  harmonious  counsels,  by  their  manly 
toils,  and  their  magnanimous  self-denials,  under  a  sense  of 
great  responsibility  to  God  for  his  honor  and  for  the  welfare 
of  other  generations,  they  framed  a  system  of  ecclesiastical 
order,  and  a  system  of  civil  government,  each  perfectly  con- 
genial to  the  other,  and  each  without  a  parallel  or  a  model, 
save  the  pattern  which  God  showed  them  in  the  mount,  as 
they  communed  with  the  Spirit  of  his  wisdom  recorded  in 
his  word. 

Thus  it  was  that  New  England  was  planted.  Thus  it  was 
that  this  Church  was  placed  here  in  the  wilderness.  The 
planting  of  North  America  upon  merely  mercenary  and  self- 
ish principles  had  been  attempted  once  and  again,  and  had 
failed.  Our  fathers  and  predecessors  came  under  the  influ- 
ence of  higher  motives,  and  of  a  holier  inspiration.  They 
came,  actuated  by  a  great  and  sublime  idea, — an  idea  from 
the  word  and  mind  of  God, — an  idea  that  made  them  cour- 
ageous to  attempt,  wise  to  plan,  strong  to  suffer,  and  dauntless 
to  persevere.  Their  souls  were  exalted  to  a  perception  of 
the  grandeur  of  their  undertaking  and  of  the  vast  results 
that  were  suspended  on  its  success.  They  were  inspired  by 
a  living  sympathy  with  the  designs  of  that  Almighty  provi- 
dence, which  led  them  into  this  boundless  wilderness,  that 
for  them  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  might  be  glad, 
and  the  desert  rejoice  abundantly  with  joy  and  singing.  Thus 
they  could  write  upon  their  banner  those  words  of  Puritan 
faith  and  devotion,  "  He  who  transplanted  us,  sustains  us." 
Whoever  looks  upon  the  armorial  bearings  of  Connecti- 
cut,— the  three  vines  which  God  brought  out  of  Egypt  and 
planted,  for  which  he  prepared  room,  before  which  he  cast 


16 

out  the  heathen,  which  he  caused  to  take  deep  root,  till  they 
sent  out  their  boughs  to  the  river  and  their  branches  to  the 
sea,  and  till  the  hills  were  covered  with  their  shadow,  and 
their  boughs  were  like  the  cedars  of  God, — whoever  reads 
that  simple  yet  inspiring  motto,  brighter  from  age  to  age  with 
glorious  remembrances, — may  see  for  what  ends,  in  what 
spirit,  and  by  whose  power  and  guidance,  our  fathers  came 
into  this  wilderness.* 

Let  their  spirit  be  ours.  Woe  to  that  man  who  amid  the 
memorials,  and  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  toils  and  suffer- 
ings, breathing  the  air  every  murmur  of  which  seems  to 
whisper  their  reverend  names — woe  to  the  man  who  amid 
their  altars  and  upon  their  graves,  forsakes  their  God — rejects 
their  Saviour — and  recreant  to  their  principles,  lives  only  to 
himself  instead  of  living  for  God,  for  posterity,  and  for  the 
world. 


*  I  know  not  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  exquisite  device  and  motto 
of  the  arms  of  Connecticut;  but  in  the  absence  of  evidence  it  is  not  unnatural 
to  suppose  that  the  three  vines — alluding  to  those  three  independent  settle- 
ments, the  river  towns,  the  Saybrook  fort,  and  the  New  Haven  jurisdiction — 
and  the  motto,  Qui  transtulit  sustinet,  are  a  specimen  of  the  good  taste  of 
Governor  Winthrop,  whose  diplomatic  skill  and  personal  favor  with  Charles 
II,  obtained  the  free  charter  of  1662;  and  whose  wisdom  and  popularity,  uni- 
ted so  happily,  under  that  charter,  a  people  otherwise  greatly  divided. 


DISCOURSE    II. 

THE    FOUNDATIONS     LAID    IN    CHURCH    AND     COMMONWEALTH. 

CONSTITUTION     FORMED     IN    MR.    NEWMAN'S     BARN. THE    PU- 
RITANS. 

PROV.  ix.  1.— Wisdom  hath  builded  her  house,  she  hath  hewn  out  her 
seven  pillars. 

THE  first  settlers  of  New  England  generally  came  hither, 
not  for  the  improvement  of  their  outward  condition  and  the 
increase  of  their  estates,  not  for  the  sake  of  putting  in  prac- 
tice any  abstract  theory  of  human  rights  or  of  civil  govern- 
ment, not  even  for  mere  liberty  of  conscience,  but  for  the  one 
great  purpose  of  extending  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  promo- 
ting their  welfare,  and  the  welfare  of  their  posterity,  and  the 
welfare  of  the  world,  by  planting  Christian  institutions,  in 
the  purest  and  simplest  form,  upon  this  virgin  soil.  It  was 
this  purpose,  which  gave  to  their  enterprise  its  character  of 
heroic  dignity.  It  was  from  this  high  purpose,  that  they  de- 
rived the  resolution  which  carried  the  enterprise  through  all 
its  discouragements,  and  the  faith  which  ensured  its  success. 
It  was  this  one  great  purpose  of  theirs,  which  determined  the 
form,  the  spirit,  and  the  working  of  their  civil  institutions. 
They  had  seen,  in  their  native  country,  the  entire  subjection 
of  the  Church  to  the  supreme  power  of  the  civil  state  ;  refor- 
mation beginning,  and  ending,  according  to  the  caprices  of 
the  hereditary  sovereign  ;  the  Church  neither  purified  from 
superstition,  ignorance,  and  scandal,  nor  permitted  to  purify 
itself;  ambitious,  time-serving,  tyrannical  men,  the  minions 
of  the  court,  appointed  to  high  places  of  prelacy ;  and  faith- 
ful, skillful,  and  laborious  preachers  of  the  Word  of  God, 
silenced,  imprisoned,  and  deprived  of  all  means  of  subsistence, 
according  to  the  interests  and  aims  of  him,  or  her,  who  by 
the  law  of  inheritance,  happened  to  be  at  the  head  of  the 
kingdom.  All  this  seemed  to  them  not  only  preposterous. 
3 


18 

but  intolerable  ;  and,  therefore,  to  escape  from  such  a  state  of 
things,  and  to  be  where  they  could  freely  "  practice  Church 
reformation,"  they  emigrated  as  far  from  civilization,  as  if  we 
were  now  to  emigrate  to  Nootka  Sound.  Here,  they  deter- 
mined that,  whatever  else  might  be  sacrificed,  the  purity  and 
liberty  of  their  Churches  should  be  inviolate.  The  Church 
was  not  to  be,  as  in  England,  subordinate  to  the  civil  govern- 
ment,— the  mere  dependent  creature  of  the  secular  power, — 
the  secular  commonwealth  here  was  designed,  created,  fra- 
med, for  no  other  end  than  to  secure  the  being  and  the  wel- 
fare of  the  Churches.  "  Mr.  Hooker  did  often  quote  a  saying 
out  of  Mr.  Cartwright,  that  noe  man  fashioneth  his  house  to 
his  hangings,  but  his  hangings  to  his  house."  "  It  is  better," 
adds  Mr.  Cotton,  "that  the  commonwealth  be  fashioned  to 
the  setting  forth  of  God's  house,  which  is  his  Church,  than 
to  accommodate  the  Church  frame  to  the  civill  state."*  If, 
then,  their  civil  polity  was  essentially  popular,  if  their  politi- 
cal institutions  have  grown  into  the  most  perfect  specimen  of 
a  free  commonwealth  which  the  world  has  ever  seen,  that 
result  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  popular,  or  as  we  now  use 
words,  the  democratic  character  of  their  ecclesiastical  polity. 
With  these  views,  when  the  planters  of  the  New  Haven 
Colony  arrived  here,  their  first  care  was  to  lay  their  founda- 
tions wisely  and  safely.  In  this  they  proceeded  with  great 
deliberation.  They  began,  indeed,  very  soon  after  their  ar- 
rival, by  forming,  at  the  close  of  their  first  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  a  "  plantation  covenant,"  in  which  they  solemnly 
pledged  themselves  to  each  other,  and  to  God,  "  that  as  in 
matters  that  concern  the  gathering  and  ordering  of  a  Church, 
so  likewise  in  all  public  offices,  which  concern  civil  order,  as 
choice  of  magistrates  and  officers,  making  and  repealing  of 
laws,  dividing  allotments  of  inheritances,  and  all  things  of 
like  nature,"  they  would  be  governed  "by  those  rules  which 
the  Scripture  holds  forth."  But  under  this  general  compact, 
they  at  first  made  only,  a  temporary  arrangement  for  the  man- 
agement of  their  religious  and  civil  affairs.  Their  leaders 

*  Cotton's  letter  to  Lord  Say  and  Seal,  in  Hutchinson  I,  497. 


19 

had  no  idea  of  sitting  down  to  frame,  for  their  colony,  a  con- 
stitution and  code  of  laws  beforehand,  as  Locke  did,  at  a  later 
day,  for  the  projected  colony  of  Carolina.  They  knew  that 
it  was  not  for  them,  at  the  first  dash,  to  strike  out  a  complete 
scheme  and  system  of  government.  They  knew  that  what 
is  done  in  a  hurry,  often  needs  to  be  done  over  again  as  has- 
tily ;  and  that  the  public  welfare  depends  not  merely  on  the 
provisions  of  the  written  constitution,  but  also  on  the  worth 
and  fitness  of  the  men  who  act  under  the  constitution ;  and 
therefore  they  determined,  that  before  proceeding  to  lay  the 
foundations,  not  only  the  principles  on  which  their  fabric 
should  be  constructed,  but  the  men  who  were  to  be  employed 
as  living  stones  in  that  temple  of  wisdom,  should  be  well  ex- 
amined. During  a  period  of  fourteen  months,  while  they 
were  rearing  some  temporary  shelters,  clearing  away  the  dense 
growth  of  the  wilderness,  and  raising  their  first  crops  from  the 
soil,  they  were  praying,  and  fasting,  and  inquiring,  and  debat- 
ing, to  get  wisdom  for  the  great  work  of  laying  the  foundations 
of  their  Church  and  of  their  commonwealth.  The  town  was 
"cast  into  several  private  meetings,  wherein  they  that  dwelt 
most  together  gave  their  accounts  one  to  another  of  God's  gra- 
cious work  upon  them,  and  prayed  together,  and  conferred  to 
mutual  edification,"  and  thus  "  had  knowledge,  one  of  anoth- 
er," and  of  the  fitness  of  individuals  for  their  several  places,  in 
the  foundation-work,  or  in  the  superstructure. 

While  these  discussions  were  in  progress,  a  difference  of 
opinion,  appears  to  have  arisen  between  Mr.  Davenport,  and 
his  colleague  in  the  ministry,  Samuel  Eaton,  respecting  the 
principles  on  which  a  government  should  be  constructed,  in 
order  best  to  secure  the  ends  for  which  the  colony  was  foun- 
ded. It  has  been  my  privilege  to  have  before  me,  while  pur- 
suing my  inquiries  respecting  the  men  and  the  transactions 
of  that  period,  a  treatise  from  the  pen  of  Davenport,  entitled, 
"  A  Discourse  about  Civil  Government  in  a  New  Plantation 
whose  design  is  Religion."  From  strong  internal  evidence, 
this  pamphlet  appears  to  have  been  written  here  in  the  woods 
of  Quinnipiack,  while  the  form  and  principles  of  the  civil 


20 

government  to  be  erected  here,  were  yet  unsettled,  and  to  have 
been  part  of  a  written  discussion  which  the  author  was  main- 
taining with  his  colleague,  on  that  subject,  then  so  interesting 
to  them,  and  so  little  illustrated  by  experience.* 

At  length,  on  the  fourth,  or  according  to  the  present  style, 
the  fourteenth  of  June,  1639,  every  thing  having  been  pre- 
pared for  so  grand  an  occasion,  "all  the  free  planters" — 
which  expression  includes  all  who  were  partners  in  the  un- 
dertaking of  planting  the  colony — met  in  Mr.  Newman's 
barn,  for  the  purpose  of  laying,  with  due  solemnities,  the 
foundations  of  their  ecclesiastical  order,  and  of  their  civil 
government.!  The  solemnities  of  the  occasion  were  intro- 
duced, it  is  said,  by  a  sermon  from  Mr.  Davenport  on  the 
words  recited  at  the  commencement  of  this  discourse,  "  Wis- 
dom hath  builded  her  house,  she  hath  hewn  out  her  seven  pil- 
lars." Then,  all  present  having  been  seriously  warned  "not 
to  be  rash  or  slight  in  giving  their  votes  to  things  they  un- 
derstood not,"  but  "  without  respect  to  men,  as  they  should 
be  satisfied  and  persuaded  in  their  own  minds,  to  give  their 
anwers  in  such  sort  as  they  would  be  willing  they  should 
stand  upon  record  for  posterity,"  they  voted,  unanimously, 
that  the  Scriptures  do  hold  forth  a  perfect  rule  for  the  direc- 
tion and  government  of  men  in  all  duties,  as  well  in  families 


*  Some  account  of  this  treatise  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix  No.  I. 

t  There  appears  to  be  no  reason  to  distrust  the  tradition  which  fixes  on 
"  Mr.  Newman's  barn"  as  the  scene  of  that  meeting.  The  only  question  is, 
Where  was  Mr.  Newman's  barn  ?  When  this  question  was  proposed  by  the 
Committee  of  arrangements  before  the  late  Centennial  celebration,  it  could 
not  be  answered. 

Among  the  original  planters  of  New  Haven  were  two  who'bore  the  name 
of  Newman, — Francis,  who  after  a  few  years  became  Secretary  both  of  the 
town  and  of  the  jurisdiction,  and  on  the  death  of  Gov.  Eaton  became  gov- 
ernor of  the  colony, — and  Robert,  who  was  the  ruling  elder  of  the  Church. 
Francis  Newman  appears  to  have  been  a  young  man  when  the  town  was 
settled  ;  he  was  not  a  man  of  wealth,  his  estate  being  put  in  the  list  for  taxes 
at  only  £160 ;  and  when  he  was  made  Governor,  the  colony  provided  him 
a  house  to  live  in.  It  is  not"  at  all  likely  that  he  was  the  proprietor  of  a 
"  large  barn"  as  early  as  1639.  Robert  Newman  on  the  contrary,  was  at  the 
beginning  one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  colony.  He  was  a  man  of  con- 


21 

and  commonwealth,  as  in  matters  of  the  Church.  They 
unanimously  renewed  the  great  engagement  of  their  planta- 
tion covenant,  and  professed  that  they  held  themselves  bound, 
not  only  in  all  ecclesiastical  proceedings,  but  in  all  civil  du- 
ties, the  choice  of  magistrates,  the  enactment  and  repeal  of 
laws,  and  the  dividing  of  inheritances, — to  submit  them- 
selves to  the  rules  held  forth  in  the  Scriptures.  They  unan- 
imously expressed  their  "  purpose,  resolution,  and  desire,  to 
be  admitted  into  church-fellowship  according  to  Christ,  so 
soon  as  God  should  fit  them  thereunto."  They  unanimously 
voted  that  they  "  felt  themselves  bound  to  establish  such  civil 
order  as  might  best  conduce  to  the  securing  of  the  purity  and 
peace  of  the  ordinances  to  themselves  and  their  posterity  ac- 
cording to  God." 

."Then,"  as  the  record  informs  us,  "Mr.  Davenport  de- 
clared to  them  by  the  Scripture,  what  kind  of  persons  might 
best  be  trusted  with  matters  of  government ;  and  by  sundry 
arguments  from  Scripture  proved  that  such  men  as  were  de- 
scribed in  Exod.  xviii,  21 ;  Deut.  i,  13,  with  Deut.  xvii,  15, 
and  1  Cor.  vi,  1,  6,  7" — [viz.  "  able  men,  such  as  fear  God, 
men  of  truth,  hating  covetousness" — "men  of  wisdom  and 
understanding,  and  known  among  your  tribes" — "  not  stran- 
gers, but  brethren,  and  those  whom  the  Lord  your  God  shall 
choose" — "  not  the  unjust,  or  the  unbelieving,  but  the  holy"] 


siderable  wealth,  his  estate  being  rated  at  £700.  He  acted  as  scribe  on  the 
occasion -in  question,  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  being  written  by  him  ;  and 
he  was  chosen  for  one  of  the  seven  pillars.  If  there  is  any  truth  in  the  tra- 
dition, we  cannot  doubt  that  the  barn  was  his. 

But  Robert  Newman's  name  does  not  appear  among  the  "  original  gran- 
tees" on  the  old  Plan  of  New  Haven  published  in  1806  by  Col.  Lyon.  And 
where  such  an  antiquarian  failed,  it  is  not  easy  to  succeed.  One  allusion, 
however,  which  I  have  happened  to  light  on,  supplies  this  deficiency.  The 
deed  by  which  the  town  in  1685  conveyed  to  the  Rev.  James  Pierpont  the 
lot  on  which  he  lived,  extending  on  Elm  Street  some  distance  above  and  be- 
low where  Temple  Street  now  is, — describes  that  lot  as  bounded,  in  the  rear, 
by  the  lot  which  was  once  Mr.  Robert  Newman's,  and  which  is  thus  identi- 
fied as  the  corresponding  lot  in  Grove  Street.  In  other  words,  Mr.  New- 
man's barn  was  somewhere  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  dwellings  of 
Professor  Kingsley  and  Dr.  Webster. 


22 

— "  ought  to  be  intrusted  by  them,  seeing  they  were  free  to 
cast  themselves  into  that  mould  and  form  of  commonwealth 
which  appeared  best  for  them  in  reference  to  the  securing 
the  peace  and  peaceable  enjoyment  of  all  Christ's  ordinances 
in  the  Church."  After  which,  the  company  having  been 
entreated  "freely  to  consider  whether  they  would  have  it 
voted  at  this  time  or  not,"  it  was  deliberately  voted  that 
"  free  burgesses  shall  be  chosen  out  of  the  church-members, 
they  that  are  in  the  foundation-work  of  the  Church,  being 
actually  free  burgesses,  and  to  choose  to  themselves  out  of  the 
like  estate  of  church-fellowship  ;  and  the  power  of  choosing 
magistrates  and  officers  from  among  themselves,  and  the 
power  of  making  and  repealing  laws  according  to  the  Word, 
and  the  dividing  of  inheritances,  and  deciding  of  differences 
that  may  arise,  and  all  the  business  of  like  nature,  are  to  be 
transacted  by  these  free  burgesses."  From  this,  after  the 
vote  had  been  taken,  one  man  expressed  his  dissent  in  part. 
That  man,  though  the  record  does  not  name  him,  was 
probably  the  Rev.  Samuel  Eaton,  of  whom  it  is  related  by 
several  authors,*  that  he  dissented  from  Mr.  Davenport  in  re- 
spect to  the  principles  of  civil  government.  In  expressing 
his  dissent,  "  he  granted,  that  magistrates  should  be  men  fear- 
ing God  j  that  the  Church  is  the  company  where  ordinarily 
such  men  may  be  expected ;  and  that  they  that  choose  them 
ought  to  be  men  fearing  God ;  only  at  this  he  stuck,  that 
free  planters  ought  not  to  give  this  power  out  of  their  hands." 
Upon  this  a  debate  arose.  To  the  reply  made  by  some  one, 
that  whatever  was  done,  was  done  with  the  consent  of  the 
planters,  and  that  the  government  which  they  were  forming 
was  to  originate  strictly  in  the  will  of  the  people,  the  objector 
answered,  "  that  all  the  free  planters  ought  to  resume  this 
power  into  their  own  hands  if  things  were  not  orderly  car- 
ried," and  therefore  that  this  constitution  which  made  no  pro- 
vision for  such  a  contingency  was  defective.  Mr.  Theophi- 


*  Mather,  Magn.  Ill,  213.  Dana's  Sermon  on  the  completion  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  46. 


23 

lus  Eaton  illustrated  the  equity  of  the  proposed  arrange- 
ment, by  showing,  that  in  all  places  civil  power  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  part  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole,  and  reminded 
them  that  in  London,  with  the  constitution  of  which  city 
they  were  familiar,  the  companies  choose  the  livery,  and  the 
livery  choose  the  magistrates.  "  Some  others,"  it  is  recorded, 
"entreated  the  former  to  give  his  arguments  and  reasons 
whereupon  he  dissented.  He  refused  to  do  it,  and  said  they 
might  not  rationally  demand  it,  seeing  he  let  the  vote  pass 
on  freely,  and  did  not  speak  till  after  it  was  passed,  because 
he  would  not  hinder  what  they  were  agreed  upon."  The 
debate  having  proceeded  thus  far,  Mr.  Davenport,  who  appears 
to  have  acted  throughout  as  moderator  of  the  meeting,  made 
"a  short  relation  of  some  former  passages  between  them  two 
about  this  question,"  and  "prayed  the  company  that  nothing 
might  be  concluded  by  them  on  this  weighty  question,  but 
what  themselves  were  persuaded  to  be  agreeing  with  the 
mind  of  God  ;"  and  in  view  of  what  had  been  said  since  the 
vote  was  taken,  "  he  entreated  them  again  to  consider  of  it, 
and  put  it  again  to  vote  as  before."  It  was  voted  again  with 
one  consent.  "  And  some  of  them  confessed,  that  whereas 
they  did  waver  before  they  came  to  the  assembly,  they  were 
now  fully  convinced." 

Having  thus  settled  this  principle  as  "  a  great  fundamental 
agreement  concerning  civil  government,"  they  proceeded 
another  step  towards  the  organization  proposed.  And  "  to 
prevent  the  blemishing  of  the  first  beginnings  of  the  Church 
work,  Mr.  Davenport  advised  that  the  names  of  such  as  were 
to  be  admitted,  might  be  publicly  propounded,  to  the  end 
that  they  who  were  most  approved  might  be  chosen," — a 
method  of  proceeding  which,  as  you  observe,  has  been  con- 
tinued to  this  day,  none  being  now  received  into  church-fel- 
lowship till  after  their  names  have  been  publicly  propoun- 
ded. Then  by  the  consent  of  all,  it  was  agreed,  "  that  twelve 
men  be  chosen,  that  their  fitness  for  the  foundation-work 
may  be  tried ;"  "  and  that  it  be  in  the  power  of  these  twelve 
to  choose  out  of  themselves  seven,  that  shall  be  most  approved 
of  the  major  part,  to  begin  the  Church." 


24 

The  seven  pillars  chosen  to  begin  the  Church,  according  to 
the  arrangement  just  described,  were  Theophilus  Eaton,  John 
Davenport,  Robert  Newman,  Matthew  Gilbert,  Thomas  Fu- 
gill,  John  Punderson,  and  Jeremiah  Dixon.  By  these  seven 
persons,  covenanting  together,  and  then  receiving  others  into 
their  fellowship,  the  first  Church  of  Christ  in  New  Haven 
was  gathered  and  constituted  on  the  22d  of  August,  1639.* 

I  have  been  the  more  particular  in  these  details,  because 
they  illustrate  the  character,  and  especially  the  religious  char- 
acter of  the  founders  of  this  Church.  The  record  of  the 
meeting  in  Mr.  Newman's  barn,  has  often  been  published,! 
and  I  presume  has  been  regarded  by  many  as  showing  con- 
clusively a  great  deal  of  fanaticism  and  bigotry,  on  the  part 
of  the  New  Haven  colonists.  Fanaticism  and  bigotry  are 
qualities  that  affect  Christian  character  very  seriously ;  and 
therefore  it  is  proper  to  inquire  here,  with  some  attention, 
what  the  record  contains,  and  what  it  does  not  contain ;  and 
particularly  how  far  it  gives  any  indications  of  narrowness  or 
fanaticism. 

1.  There  is  no  claim  of  a  divine  right  in  the  Church  to 
rule  the  commonwealth.     There  are  in  these  proceedings 
no  fifth-monarchy  notions — no  intimations  that  the  saints  as 
such  are  of  right  to  rule  the  earth.     This  is  perfectly  accor- 
dant with  the  views  of  Davenport  elsewhere  expressed.     In 
the  "  former  passages,"  between  him  and  his  colleague,  he 
had  utterly  refused  to  discuss  the  question  "  whether  the  right 
and  power  of  choosing  civil  magistrates  belongs  to  the  Church 
of  Christ."  He  said  that  arguments  for  the  negative  of  such 
a  question  are  arguments  "  produced  to  prove  that  which  is 
not  denied." 

2.  There  is  here  no  confusion  of  the  distinct  provinces  of 
the  Church  and  the  civil  state.     There  is  no  proposal  to 
transact  the  least  particle  of  the  business  of  the  common- 

*  This  date  is  ascertained  from  the  records  of  the  First  Church  in  Milford, 
which  was  gathered  in  New  Haven,  and,  as  tradition  says,  on  the  same  day 
with  the  New  Haven  Church. 

t  Trumbull  I,  502.     Barber,  Hist,  and  Antiq.  of  New  Haven,  30. 


25 

wealth  in  any  church-meeting,  or  to  put  any  civil  power 
whatever  into  the  hands  of  church  officers.  The  proposal 
was  not  that  membership  in  the  Church  should  invest  a 
man  with  power  in  the  government  of  the  commonwealth. 
Many  might  debate,  and  vote  in  church-meetings  who  could 
have  no  voice  at  all  in  the  government  of  the  civil  state. 
None  ever  marked  the  distinction  between  the  church  and 
the  state  more  carefully  than  Davenport.  "  Ecclesiastical 
administrations,"  he  says,  "  are  a  divine  order  appointed 
to  believers  for  holy  communion  of  holy  things.  Civil 
administrations  are  a  human  order  appointed  by  God  to 
men,  for  civil  fellowship  of  human  things."  Drawing  out 
this  distinction,  he  says,  "  Man,  by  nature,  being  a  reasona- 
ble and  sociable  creature,  capable  of  civil  order,  is,  or  may  be, 
the  subject  of  civil  power  and  state.  But  man  by  grace, 
called  out  of  the  world  to  fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ  and 
with  his  people,  is  the  only  subject  of  church  power."  And 
"  though  they  both  agree  in  this,  that  they  have  the  same 
last  end,  namely,  the  glory  of  God,  yet  they  differ  in  their 
next  ends,  for  the  next  end  of  civil  order  and  administrations 
is  the  preservation  of  human  societies,  in  outward  honor,  jus- 
tice, and  peace  ;  but  the  next  end  of  church  order  and  admin- 
istrations are,  the  conversion,  edification  and  salvation  of  souls, 
pardon  of  sin,  power  against  sin,  and  peace  with  God."  And 
not  to  detain  you  with  other  quotations,  he  insists  that  the 
ecclesiastical  order  and  the  civil  must  have  different  laws,  dif- 
ferent officers,  and  different  power.  Who  has  ever  distin- 
guished more  accurately  between  the  church  and  the  state  ? 
3.  There  is  throughout  these  proceedings,  a  decided  asser- 
tion of  the  right  of  the  people  to  originate  such  a  constitution 
of  civil  government,  as  might  to  them  seem  good.  The 
fashion  of  the  age  was,  to  deduce  all  authority  from  the  divine 
right  of  kings ;  and  the  theory  of  civil  power  was  the  theory 
of  uninterrupted  succession.  But  the  settlers  of  New  Haven 
thought,  that  having  traveled  beyond  the  bounds  of  any  ex- 
isting government,  "  they  were  free  to  cast  themselves  into 
that  mould  and  form  of  commonwealth  which  appeared  best 
4 


26 

for  them"  in  reference  to  their  great  design  ;  and  they  had 
no  doubt  that  the  government  which  they  might  thus,  by 
their  voluntary  compact,  originate,  would  have  as  perfect  an 
authority  to  exercise  all  the  functions  of  government  as  any 
potentate  on  earth.  Do  you  call  this  bigotry  or  fanaticism, 
or  narrowness  ?  Oh,  no  ;  their  view  has  become  since  1776 
the  only  political  orthodoxy  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Yet 
it  was  this  very  thing,  more  than  any  merely  religious  pecu- 
liarities, which  made  New  England  so  basely  fanatical  in  the 
estimation  of  tory  Englishmen.  This  strange  enthusiasm  of 
attempting  to  set  up  government  by  compact — this  audacious 
doctrine,  that  the  majesty  of  a  state,  with  laws  and  powers 
ordained  of  God,  could  spring  into  being  by  the  lifting  up  of 
the  hands  of  a  few  exiles  under  the  rafters  of  a  barn,  with  no 
sanction  of  papal  bull  or  royal  charter — this  it  was,  which  in- 
spired the  advocates  of  the  theory  of  arbitrary  and  hereditary 
power,  in  England,  and  in  this  country  too,  with  so  bitter 
and  relentless  a  hatred  of  New  England  fanaticism. 

4.  There  is  in  these  proceedings  no  indication  of  an  arbi- 
trary or  domineering  spirit  in  any  quarter.  Nothing  is  done 
by  the  authority  of  the  leaders — nothing  implies  that  any  one 
among  them  was  specially  endowed  with  any  supernatural 
gifts  of  knowledge  or  of  power,  or  had  any  right  to  control 
the  opinions  or  conduct  of  the  others.  On  the  contrary,  every 
thing  is  done  by  argument,  by  an  appeal  to  reason  and  to 
Scripture.  The  planters  are  seriously  warned  not  to  "  give 
their  votes  to  things  they  understand  not,"  and  are  entreated 
to  give  their  answers  "  without  respect  to  men,  as  they  should 
be  satisfied  and  persuaded  in  their  own  minds."  Every  thing 
is  done  too  in  the  spirit  of  mutual  confidence  and  affection. 
You  see  on  the  part  of  all  a  most  respectful  deference  to 
the  judgment  and  choice  of  the  majority.  You  see  the  spirit 
of  kindness,  in  the  care  with  which  they  avoid  putting  upon 
the  record,  the  name  of  the  individual  who  was,  as  they 
esteemed  it,  so  unfortunate  as  to  differ  from  the  rest  in  judg- 
ment. It  seems  to  show  that  they  were  not  inclined  to  re- 
member it  against  him. 


27 

5.  We  find,  throughout  this  record,  a  profound  respect  for 
the  authority  of  the  Scriptures  as  interpreted  by  common 
sense.     I  refer  here  to  a  very  sure  test  of  enthusiasm.     So 
long  as  you  find  a  man  ready  to  follow  the  Bible  in  its  plain, 
common  sense  meaning,  as  interpreted  by  the  aid  of  study 
and  learning,  and  on  the  same  principles  which  regulate  the 
interpretation  of  other  books,  you  may  be  very  sure  that  he 
is  no  enthusiast.     Enthusiasts  find  the  Bible  a  very  unsatis- 
factory book,  and  therefore  they  either  get  above  the  Bible, 
finding  their  own  inward  light  much  better, — or  else  resort 
to  mystical  systems  of  interpretation,  by  which  they  evolve 
from  the  Bible  some  secondary,  recondite,  spiritual  sense, 
better  suited  to  the  exalted  state  of  their  imaginations.     I 
lay  it  down  then  as  a  rule  to  which  it  will  be  very  difficult 
to  find  any  well  established  exception,  that  the  man  to  whom 
the  Bible  in  its  obvious  meaning  as  determined  by  the  ordi- 
nary principles  of  interpretation,  is  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith 
and  practice — the  man  who  first  exercises  his  judgment,  and 
learning,  and  common  sense,  to  determine  what  the  Bible 
teaches,  and  what  is  its  legitimate  application  to  his  conduct, 
and  then  yields  to  the  authority  of  the  Bible  a  profound  and 
hearty  deference — is  no  enthusiast.     And  where  there  is  no 
enthusiasm — where  common  sense,  studying  the  Bible,  and 
yielding  to  its  authority,  governs  the  mind,  there  you  will 
find  nothing  which  deserves  to  be  called  fanaticism,  unless 
you  would  make  out  that  the  Bible  itself  is  fanatical. 

6.  The  whole  record  shows  their  earnestness  and  care  to 
secure  the  great  end  of  their  migration  hither.     They  knew 
perfectly  well  that  there  was  a  royal  commission  then  in  be- 
ing, which  gave  power  of  protection  and  government  over  all 
English  colonies  which  had  been  or  might  be  planted,  to 
their  old  enemy  Archbishop  Laud  with  ten  other  courtiers 
of  a  kindred  spirit.*     They  knew  it  was  intended  by  the 
court,  that  the  same  iron  rod  which  had  been  so  heavy  upon 
them  in  their  native  country,  should  strike  them  here  in  the 

*  Kingsley,  14.  15.     Hazard,  I,  344.     Hubbard,  26 


28 

wilderness.  They  knew  that  as  soon  as  they  should  have 
built  their  houses  and  got  their  lands  under  cultivation,  as 
soon  as  they  should  have  enough  of  what  was  taxable  and 
tithable  to  excite  covetousness,  the  king  would  be  sending 
over  his  needy  profligates  to  govern  them,  and  the  archbishop 
his  surpliced  dependents  to  gather  the  tithes  into  his  store- 
house. Knowing  this,  they  were  resolved  to  leave  no  door 
open  for  such  an  invasion.  They  came  hither  to  establish  a 
free  Christian  commonwealth  ;  and,  to  secure  that  end,  they 
determined,  that  in.  their  commonwealth,  none  should  have 
any  civil  power,  who  either  would  not,  or  could  not,  enter 
at  the  door  of  church-fellowship.  "  They  held  themselves 
bound,"  they  said,  "  to  establish  such  civil  order  as  might 
best  conduce  to  the  securing  the  purity  and  peace  of  the 
ordinances  to  themselves  and  their  posterity."  Was  this 
fanatical?  Was  this  bigoted?  Place  yourself  in  their  cir- 
cumstances, with  their  convictions  of  the  importance  of  truth, 
simplicity,  and  purity,  in  the  worship  of  God ;  and  say  what 
you  could  do,  more  rational  or  more  manly. 

Where  then,  I  ask  again,  was  the  bigotry,  the  fanaticism, 
the  narrowness  of  mind,  which  you  have  seemed  to  see  as 
you  have  read  the  record  of  the  famous  meeting  in  Mr.  New- 
man's barn,  at  which  wisdom  builded  her  house,  and  hewed 
out  her  seven  pillars  ?  You  say,  perhaps,  that  the  constitu- 
tion itself  which  was  then  adopted,  is  the  proof  that  they 
were  fanatics.  Who  but  bigots  and  fanatics,  you  ask,  would 
think  of  constructing  a  government  upon  such  principles? 

The  constitution,  if  we  may  so  call  it,  adopted  at  that 
meeting,  contained  these  two  principles  only, — first,  that  in 
the  choice  of  magistrates,  the  making  and  repealing  of  laws, 
the  dividing  of  inheritances,  and  the  deciding  of  differences, 
all  should  be  governed  by  the  rules  held  forth  in  Scripture  ; 
and,  secondly,  that  a  man's  Christian  character,  certified  by 
the  Church  in  the  fact  of  his  being  a  church-member,  should 
be  essential,  not  to  his  enjoying  civil  rights  and  privileges, 
but  to  his  exercising  civil  power. 


29 

If  you  believe  the  Bible  to  be  a  perfect  rule  of  moral  ac- 
tion, you  are  precluded  from  taking  any  exception  against  the 
first  of  these  principles,  as  it  stands  upon  the  record.  If  you 
do  not  believe  in  the  Bible  as  a  rule  of  moral  action,  I  confess 
I  am  not  careful  at  present  to  answer  you  at  all  in  this  matter. 
The  principle  as  it  stands,  is  simply  that  Christianity — the 
ethics  of  Christianity,  should  be  the  constitution  of  the  com- 
monwealth— the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

But  give  the  principle  another  construction.  Take  it  as  it 
is  commonly  understood,  arid  as,  a  few  years  afterwards,  it 
was  actually  applied  in  practice.  In  1644,  it  was  ordered  by 
the  General  Court  of  the  jurisdiction,  '*  that  the  judicial  laws 
of  God  as  they  were  delivered  by  Moses,  and  as  they  are  a 
fence  to  the  moral  law,  being  neither  typical  nor  ceremonial, 
nor  having  any  reference  to  Canaan,  shall  be  accounted  of 
moral  equity,  and  generally  bind  all  offenders,  and  be  a  rule 
to  all  the  courts  in  this  jurisdiction  in  their  proceedings  against 
offenders,  till  they  be  branched  out  into  particulars  hereafter." 
Take  this  adoption  of  the  civil  laws  of  the  Hebrew  com- 
monwealth, about  which  malicious  hearts  and  shallow  brains 
have  so  employed  their  faculties  ;  and  what  is  there  in  this, 
that  should  make  us  ashamed  of  our  fathers  ? — what  that 
proves  them  to  be  fanatics  or  bigots? 

Remember  now  that,  situated  as  they  were,  they  must 
adopt  either  the  laws  of  England  or  some  other  known  sys- 
tem. A  system  entirely  new,  they  could  not  frame  immedi- 
ately. ,  Should  they  then  adopt  the  laws  of  England  as  the 
laws  of  their  young  republic  ?  Those  were  the  very  laws 
from  which  they  had  fled.  Those  laws  would  subject  them 
at  once  to  the  king,  to  the  parliament,  and  to  the  prelates,  in 
their  several  jurisdictions.  The  adoption  of  the  laws  of 
England  would  have  been  fatal  to  the  object  of  their  emi- 
gration. Should  they  then  adopt  the  Roman  civil  law,  which 
is  the  basis  of  the  jurisprudence  of  most  countries  in  Eu- 
rope ?  That  system  is  foreign  to  the  genius  of  Englishmen, 
and  to  the  spirit  of  freedom,  and  besides,  was  unknown  to 
the  body  of  the  people  for  whom  laws  were  to  be  provided. 


30 

What  other  course  remained  to  them,  if  they  wished  to  sep- 
arate themselves  from  the  power  of  the  enemies  who  had 
driven  them  into  banishment,  and  to  provide  for  a  complete 
and  vital  independence,  but  to  adopt  at  once  a  system  of 
laws  which  was  in  every  man's  hand,  which  every  man  read, 
and,  as  he  was  able,  expounded  in  his  family,  and  with 
which  every  subject  of  the  jurisdiction  could  easily  be  made 
familiarly  acquainted. 

And  what  was  there  of  absurdity  in  this  code,  considered 
as  a  code  for  just  such  a  settlement  as  this  was  ?  Where  are 
we,  that  we  need  to  raise  such  a  question  ?  Is  it  in  a  Chris- 
tian country,  that  the  question  must  be  argued,  whether  the 
Mosaic  law,  excluding  whatever  is  typical,  or  ceremonial,  or 
local,  is  absurd,  as  the  basis  or  beginning  of  a  system  of  ju- 
risprudence ?  Suppose  the  planters  of  Q,uinnipiack  had  ta- 
ken as  their  rule,  in  the  administration  of  justice,  the  laws  of 
Solon,  or  Lycurgus,  or  the  laws  of  the  twelve  tables  :  suppose 
the  agreement  had  been,  that  the  laws  of  King  Alfred  should 
be  followed  in  the  punishment  of  offenders,  in  the  settlement 
of  controversies  between  individuals,  and  in  the  division  of 
estates : — where  had  been  the  absurdity  ?  Who  will  tell  us, 
that  the  laws  of  Moses  are  less  wise  or  equitable  than  the 
laws  of  any  other  of  the  legislators  of  antiquity  ? 

The  laws  of  Moses  were  given  to  a  community  emigrating 
from  their  native  country,  into  a  land  which  they  were  to  ac- 
quire and  occupy,  for  the  great  purpose  of  maintaining  in 
simplicity  and  purity  the  worship  of  the  one  true  God.  The 
founders  of  this  colony  came  hither  for  the  self-same  purpose. 
Their  emigration  from  their  native  country  was  a  religious 
emigration.  Every  other  interest  of  their  community  was 
held  subordinate  to  the  purity  of  their  religious  faith  and 
practice.  So  far  then  as  this  point  of  comparison  is  con- 
cerned, the  laws  which  were  given  to  Israel  in  the  wilder- 
ness may  have  been  suited  to  the  wants  of  a  religious  colony 
planting  itself  in  America. 

The  laws  of  Moses  were  given  to  a  people  who  were  to 
live  not  only  surrounded  by  heathen  tribes  on  every  frontier 


31 

save  the  seaboard,  but  also  with  heathen  inhabitants,  wor- 
shipers of  the  devil,  intermixed  among  them,  not  fellow-citi- 
zens, but  men  of  another  and  barbarous  race  ;  and  the  laws 
were  therefore  framed  with  a  special  reference  to  the  corrupt- 
ing influence  of  such  neighborhood  and  intercourse.  Similar 
to  this  was  the  condition  of  our  fathers.  The  Canaanite  was 
in  the  land,  with  his  barbarian  vices,  with  his  heathenish  and 
hideous  superstitions ;  and  their  servants  and  children  were 
to  be  guarded  against  the  contamination  of  intercourse  with 
beings  so  degraded. 

The  laws  of  the  Hebrews  were  designed  for  a  free  people. 
Under  those  laws,  so  unlike  all  the  institutions  of  oriental 
despotism,  there  was  no  absolute  power,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  hereditary  priesthood,  whose  privileges  as  a 
class  were  well  balanced  by  their  labors  and  disabilities,  no 
privileged  classes.  The  aim  of  those  laws  was  "  equal  and  ex- 
act justice  ;"  and  equal  and  exact  justice  is  the  only  freedom. 
Equal  and  exact  justice  in  the  laws,  and  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  laws,  infuses  freedom  into  the  being  of  a  people, 
secures  the  widest  and  most  useful  distribution  of  the  means 
of  enjoyment,  and  affords  scope  for  the  activity,  and  health- 
ful stimulus  to  the  affections,  of  every  individual.  The  peo- 
ple whose  habits  and  sentiments  are  formed  under  such  an 
administration  of  justice,  will  be  a  free  people. 

But  it  is  worth  our  while  to  notice  two  of  the  most  im- 
portant effects  of  their  renouncing  the  laws  of  England,  and 
adopting  the  Mosaic  law.  In  the  first  place,  the  principle 
on  which  inheritances  were  to  be  divided,  was  materially 
changed.  The  English  law,  except  where  some  local  usage 
prevails  to  the  contrary,  gives  all  real  estate  to  the  eldest  son. 
This  is  the  pillar  of  the  English  aristocracy.  Let  this  one 
principle  be  taken  away ;  let  estates,  instead  of  passing  un- 
divided to  a  single  heir,  be  divided  among  many  heirs,  and 
that  vast  accumulation  of  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  few  great 
families  is  at  an  end.  But  the  Jewish  law  divides  inheritan- 
ces among  all  the  children,  giving  to  the  eldest  son,  as  the 
head  of  the  family,  only  a  double  portion.  This  promotes 


equality  among  the  people,  breaking  up  the  rich  man's  great 
estate  into  as  many  portions  as  he  has  children,  and  thus 
insuring  the  constant  division  and  general  distribution  of  prop- 
erty. How  different  is  the  aspect  of  this  country  now,  from 
what  it  would  have  been,  if  the  feudal  law  of  inheritance  had 
been  from  the  beginning  the  law  of  the  land  !  How  incal- 
culable has  been  the  effect  on  the  character  of  the  people  ! 

Notice  in  the  next  place,  how  great  a  change,  in  respect  to 
the  inflicting  of  capital  punishments,  was  made  by  adopting 
the  Hebrew  laws,  instead  of  the  laws  of  England.  By  the 
laws  of  England,  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  crimes 
were,  till  quite  lately,  punishable  with  death.  By  the  laws 
which  the  New  England  colonists  adopted,  this  bloody  cata- 
logue was  reduced  to  eleven.*  On  such  a  difference  as  this, 
it  would  be  idle  to  expatiate.  In  determining  what  kind  of 
men  our  fathers  were,  we  are  to  compare  their  laws,  not  with 
ours,  but  with  the  laws  which  they  renounced.  The  great- 
est and  boldest  improvement  which  has  been  made  in  crimi- 
nal jurisprudence,  by  any  one  act,  since  the  dark  ages,  was 
that  which  was  made  by  our  fathers,  when  they  determined, 
"  that  the  judicial  laws  of  God,  as  they  were  delivered  by 
Moses,  and  as  they  are  a  fence  to  the  moral  law,  being  neither 
typical,  nor  ceremonial,  nor  having  any  reference  to  Canaan, 
shall  be  accounted  of  moral  equity,  and  generally  bind  all  of- 
fenders, and  be  a  rule  to  all  the  courts."  Whatever  improve- 
ments in  this  respect  we  have  made  since  their  day,  may  be 
resolved  into  this : — We  have  learned  to  distinguish,  better 
than  they,  between  that  in  the  laws  of  Moses  which  was  of 
absolute  obligation,  being  founded  on  permanent  and  uni- 
versal reasons  only,  and  that  which  was  ordained  in  reference 
to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Hebrew  nation,  and 
which  was  therefore  temporary  or  local. 

So  much  for  the  first  principle  in  the  constitution  adopted 
by  the  fathers  of  New  Haven,  namely,  the  principle  that  the 

*  Murder,  Treason,  Perjury  against  the  life  of  another,  Kidnapping,  Besti- 
ality, Sodomy,  Adultery,  Blasphemy  in  the  highest  degree,  Idolatry,  Witch- 
craft, Rebellion  agninst  parents. 


33 

Bible  should  be  their  rule  of  justice.  As  to  the  other  prin- 
ciple, namely,  that  political  power  should  be  committed  only 
to  those  men  whose  moral  character,  and  whose  sympathy 
with  the  great  design  of  the  plantation,  should  be  certified 
by  their  being  members  of  the  Church, — I  know  not  that  I 
need  to  explain,  any  further,  its  equity  or  wisdom  as  a  polit- 
ical measure.  If  we  are  to  regard  it  as  a  measure  for  the  en- 
couragement or  promotion  of  piety,  undoubtedly  it  must  be 
pronounced  a  great  mistake.  Piety  is  not  to  be  promoted  by 
making  it  the  condition  of  any  civil  or  political  distinctions. 
This  they  knew  as  well  as  we ;  and  when  they  introduced 
the  principle  in  question  into  their '"  fundamental  agree- 
ment," it  was  not  for  the  sake  of  bestowing  honors  or  privi- 
leges upon  piety,  but  for  the  sake  of  guarding  their  liberty, 
and  securing  the  end  for  which  they  had  made  themselves 
exiles.  If  you  call  their  adoption  of  this  principle  fanati- 
cism, it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  same  fanaticism  runs 
through  the  history  of  England.  How  long  has  any  man 
in  England  been  permitted  to  hold  any  office  under  the 
crown,  without  being  a  communicant  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land ?  The  same  fanaticism  had,  up  to  that  fourth  of  June, 
1639,  characterized  all  nations,  protestant  or  popish,  Moham- 
medan or  heathen  ;  nay,  as  Davenport  said,  "  these  very  In- 
dians, that  worship  the  Devil,"  acted  on  the  same  principle, 
so  that  in  his  judgment  "  it  seemed  to  be  a  principle  im- 
printed in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  all  men  in  the  equity  of 
it."*  Call  it  fanaticism  if  you  will.  To  that  fanaticism 
which  threw  off  the  laws  of  England,  and  made  these  colo- 
nies Puritan  commonwealths,  we  are  indebted  for  our  exist- 
ence as  a  distinct  and  independent  nation. 

But  after  all,  we  may  be  told,  they  were  Puritans.  Well, 
what  and  who  were  the  Puritans  ?  Need  any  man  be 
ashamed  of  being  descended  from  such  ancestors  ? 

There  are  those  whose  ideas  of  the  Puritans  are  derived 
only  from  such  authorities  as  Butler's  Hudibras,  Scott's  ro- 

*  Discourse  about  Civil  Government,  24. 
5 


34 

mances,  and  similar  fictions.  There  are  those,  still  more 
unfortunate,  who  form  their  opinion  of  the  character  of  the 
Puritans  from  what  they  read  in  such  works  as  that  most  un- 
scrupulous and  malicious  of  lying  narratives,  Peters'  History 
of  Connecticut.  With  persons  whose  historical  knowledge 
is  of  this  description,  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  argue. 
But  those  who  know  any  thing  of  the  history  of  England, 
may  easily  disabuse  themselves  of  vulgar  prejudices  against 
the  Puritans. 

What  were  the  Puritans?  The  prejudices  which  have 
been  infused  into  so  many  minds  from  the  light,  popular  lite- 
rature of  England  since  the  restoration,  are  ready  to  answer. 
The  Puritans  ! — every  body  knows  what  they  were  ; — an  en- 
thusiastic religious  sect,  distinguished  by  peculiarities  of  dress 
and  language,  enemies  of  learning,  haters  of  refinement  and 
all  social  enjoyments,  low-bred  fanatics,  crop-eared  rebels,  a 
rabble  of  round-heads,  whose  preachers  were  cobblers  and 
tinkers,  ever  turning  their  optics  in  upon  their  own  inward 
light,  and  waging  fierce  war  upon  mince  pies  and  plum  pud- 
dings. It  was  easy  for  the  courtiers  of  King  Charles  II, 
when  the  men  of  what  they  called  "the  Grand  Rebellion," 
had  gone  from  the  scene  of  action,  thus  to  make  themselves 
merry  with  misrepresentations  of  the  Puritans,  and  to  laugh 
at  the  wit  of  Butler  and  of  South  ;  but  their  fathers  laughed 
not,  when,  in  many  a  field  of  conflict,  the  chivalry  of  Eng- 
land skipped  like  lambs,  and  proud  banners  rich  with  Nor- 
man heraldry,  and  emblazoned  with  bearings  that  had  been 
stars  of  victory  at  Cressy  and  at  Poictiers,  were  trailed  in  dust 
before  the  round-head  regiments  of  Cromwell. 

What  were  the  Puritans  ?  Let  sober  history  answer.  They 
were  a  great  religious  and  political  party,  in  a  country  and  in 
an  age  in  which  every  man's  religion  was  a  matter  of  political 
regulation.  They  were  in  their  day  the  reforming  party  in 
the  church  and  state  of  England.  They  were  a  party  in- 
cluding, like  all  other  great  parties,  religious  or  political,  a 
great  variety  of  character,  and  men  of  all  conditions  in  soci- 
ety. There  were  noblemen  among  them,  and  there  were 


35 

peasants ;  but  the  bulk  of  the  party  was  in  the  middling 
classes,  the  classes  which  the  progress  of  commerce  and  civ- 
ilization, and  free  thought,  had  created  between  the  degraded 
peasantry  and  the  corrupt  aristocracy.  The  strong  holds  of 
the  party  were  in  the  great  commercial  towns,  and  especially 
among  the  merchants  and  tradesmen  of  the  metropolis.  There 
were  doubtless  some  hypocrites  among  them,  and  some  men 
of  unsettled  opinions,  and  some  of  loose  morals,  and  some 
actuated  by  no  higher  sentiment  than  party  spirit ;  but  the 
party  as  a  whole  was  characterized  by  a  devoted  love  of 
country,  by  strict  and  stern  morality,  by  hearty,  fervent  piety, 
and  by  the  strongest  attachment  to  sound,  evangelical  doc- 
trines. There  were  ignorant  men  among  them,  and  weak 
men ;  but  comparing  the  two  parties  as  masses,  theirs  was 
was  the  intelligent  and  thinking  party.  There  were  among 
them  some  men  of  low  ambition,  some  of  a  restless,  envious, 
leveling  temper,  some  of  narrow  views ;  but  the  party  as  a 
whole,  was  the  patriotic  party,  it  stood  for  popular  rights,  for 
the  liberties  of  England,  for  law  against  prerogative,  for  the 
doctrine  that  kings  and  magistrates  were  made  for  the  people, 
and  not  the  people  for  kings — ministers  for  the  Church,  and 
not  the  Church  for  ministers. 

Who  were  the  Puritans  ?  Enemies  of  learning  did  you 
say  ?  You  have  heard  of  Lightfoot,  second  in  scholarship 
to  no  other  man,  whose  researches  into  all  sorts  of  lore  are 
even  at  this  day  the  great  store-house  from  which  the  most 
learned-  and  renowned  commentators,  not  of  England  and 
America  only,  but  of  Germany,  derive  no  insignificant  por- 
tion of  their  learning.  Lightfoot  was  a  Puritan.*  You  may 
have  heard  of  Theophilus  Gale,  whose  works  have  never 
yet  been  surpassed  for  minute  and  laborious  investigation 
into  the  sources  of  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Gentiles.  Gale 
was  a  Puritan.  You  may  have  heard  of  Owen,  the  fame  of 
whose  learning,  not  less  than  of  his  genius  and  his  skill,  filled 
all  Europe,  and  constrained  the  most  determined  enemies  of 

*  Lightfoot  was  a  member  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines.  Af- 
ter the  restoration,  he  conformed  to  the  Established  Church. 


36 

him,  and  of  his  party,  to  pay  him  the  profoundest  deference. 
Owen  was,  among  divines,  the  very  head  and  captain  of  the 
Puritans.  You  may  have  heard  of  Selden,  the  jurist,  the 
universal  scholar,  whose  learning  was  in  his  day,  and  is  even 
at  this  day,  the  "glory  of  the  English  nation."  Selden  was 
a  Puritan.*  Strange  that  such  men  should  have  been  iden- 
tified with  the  enemies  of  learning. 

The  Puritans  triumphed  for  a  while.  They  beat  down 
not  only  the  prelacy,  but  the  peerage,  and  the  throne.  And 
what  did  they  do  with  the  universities  ?  The  universities 
were  indeed  revolutionized  by  commissioners  from  the  Puri- 
tan Parliament ;  and  all  who  were  enemies  to  the  Common- 
wealth of  England,  as  then  established,  were  turned  out  of 
the  seats  of  instruction  and  government.  But  were  the  rev- 
enues of  the  universities  confiscated  ? — their  halls  given  up 
to  pillage  ? — their  libraries  scattered  and  destroyed  ?  Never 
were  the  universities  of  England  better  regulated,  never  did 
they  better  answer  the  legitimate  ends  of  such  institutions, 
than  when  they  were  under  the  control  of  the  Puritans. 

Who  were  the  Puritans  ?  Enemies,  did  you  say,  of  lite- 
rature and  refinement  ?  What  is  the  most  resplendent  name 
in  the  literature  of  England  ?  Name  that  most  illustrious  of 
poets,  who  for  magnificence  of  imagination,  for  grandeur  of 
thought,  for  purity,  beauty,  and  tenderness  of  sentiment,  for 
harmony  of  numbers,  for  power  and  felicity  of  language, 
stands  without  a  rival.  Milton  was  a  Puritan. 

Who  were  the  low-bred  fanatics,  the  crop-eared  rebels,  the 
rabble  of  round-heads?  Name  that  purest  patriot  whose 
name  stands  brightest  and  most  honored  in  the  history  of 
English  liberty,  and  whose  example  is  ever  the  star  of  guid- 
ance and  of  hope,  to  all  who  resist  usurped  authority.  Hamp- 
den  was  a  Puritan, — associate  with  Pym  in  the  eloquence 
that  swayed  the  Parliament  and  "fulmin'd"  over  England, 
comrade  in  arms  with  Cromwell,  and  shedding  his  blood 
upon  the  battle-field. 

*  Selden  was  one  of  the  lay  members  of  the  Westminster  Assembly. 


37 

But  their  preachers  were  cobblers  and  tinkers  !  Were  they 
indeed  ?  Well,  and  what  were  Christ's  apostles  ?  One  tinker 
I  remember,  among  the  preachers  of  that  age,  and  of  that 
great  party — though  not,  in  the  most  proper  meaning  of  the 
word,  a  Puritan ;  and  what  name  is  more  worthy  of  a  place 
among  the  names  of  the  elected  fishermen  of  Galilee,  than 
the  name  of  Banyan  ?  That  tinker,  shut  up  in  Bedford  jail 
for  the  crime  of  preaching,  saw  there  with  the  eye  of  faith 
and  genius,  visions  only  less  divine  than  those  which  were 
revealed  to  his  namesake  in  Patmos.  His  "  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress" lives  in  all  the  languages  of  Christendom,  among  the 
most  immortal  of  the  works  of  human  genius.  Would  that 
all  preachers  were  gifted  like  that  tinker  Bunyan  ! 

But  the  Puritan  preachers  cannot  be  characterized  as  illite- 
rate, or  as  men  who  had  been  trained  to  mechanical  employ- 
ments. They  were  men  from  the  universities,  skilled  in  the 
learning  of  the  age,  and  well  equipped  for  the  work  of  preach- 
ing. Never  has  England  seen  a  more  illustrious  company  of 
preachers  than  when  Baxter,  Owen,  Bates,  Charnock,  Howe, 
and  two  thousand  others  of  inferior  attainments  indeed,  but 
of  kindred  spirit,  labored  in  the  pulpits  of  the  establishment. 
Never  has  any  ministry  in  the  Church  of  England  done  more, 
in  the  same  time,  and  under  similar  disadvantages,  for  the 
advancement  of  the  people  in  the  knowledge  of  Christian 
truth,  and  in  the  practice  of  Christian  piety,  than  was  done 
by  the  ministry  of  the  Puritans.  Whence  came  the  best  and 
most  famous  of  those  books  of  devotion,  and  of  experimen- 
tal and  practical  piety,  which  have  so  enriched  our  language, 
and  by  which  the  authors  preach  to  all  generations.  The 
"  Saint's  Rest,"  the  "  Call  to  the  Unconverted,"  the  "  Bless- 
edness of  the  Righteous,"  the  "  Living  Temple,"  these,  and 
other  works  like  these,  which  have  been  the  means  of  lead- 
ing thousands  to  God  the  eternal  fountain, — are  the  works  of 
Puritan  preachers. 

Let  me  not  be  considered  as  maintaining  that  the  Puritans 
were  faultless  or  infallible.  I  know  they  had  faults,  great 
faults.  I  know  they  fell  into  serious  errors.  By  their  errors 


38 

and  faults,  the  great  cause  which  their  virtue  so  earnestly 
espoused,  and  their  valor  so  strongly  defended,  was  wrecked 
and  almost  ruined.  But  dearly  did  they  pay,  in  disappoint- 
ment, in  persecution,  in  many  sufferings,  in  the  contempt 
which  was  heaped  upon  them  by  the  infatuated  people  they 
had  vainly  struggled  to  emancipate, — the  penalty  of  their 
faults  and  errors.  And  richly  have  their  posterity,  inhabiting 
both  hemispheres,  enjoyed,  in  well  ordered  liberty,  in  the 
diffusion  of  knowledge,  and  in  the  saving  influences  of  pure 
Christianity, — the  purchase  of  their  sufferings,  the  reward  of 
their  virtues  and  their  valor. 


DISCOURSE   III. 

ECCLESIASTICAL    FORMS    AND    USAGES    OF    THE    FIRST    AGE    IN 
NEW    ENGLAND. 

JOSHUA  xxiv,  31. — And  Israel  served  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  Joshua,  and 
all  the  days  of  the  elders  that  overlived  Joshua,  and_who  had  known  all  the 
works  of  the  Lord,  that  he  had  done  for  Israel. 

IN  the  present  discourse,  as  preliminary  to  some  sketches 
of  remarkable  individuals  among  the  members  of  this  Church 
in  that  generation  which  came  out  of  England,  I  shall  notice 
several  particulars  not  yet  touched  upon,  respecting  the  history 
of  the  Church  as  a  community  at  that  period. 

With  what  solemnities  the  formal  constituting  of  the 
Church,  by  the  seven  men  appointed  for  that  purpose,  was  at- 
tended, is  not  upon  those  records  which  have  come  down  to  us. 
We  know,  however,  what  were  the  forms  generally  observed 
on  similar  occasions,  at  the  same  period ;  and,  presuming  that 
the  same  forms  were  observed  here,  we  may  easily  imagine 
something  of  the  transactions  of  that  day.*  At  an  early  hour, 
probably  not  far  from  8  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  congre- 
gation assembled.  Tradition  says,  that  the  assembly  was 
under  the  same  broad  oak,  under  which  they  had  kept  their 
first  Sabbath.  After  public  exercises  of  preaching  and  prayer, 
"about  the  space  of  four  or  five  hours,"  those  who  are  first  to 
unite  in  the  church  covenant,  the  seven  pillars  in  the  house 
of  wisdom,  stand  forth  before  the  congregation,  and  the  el- 
ders and  delegates  from  neighboring  Churches, — for,  prob- 
ably, such  were  present  from  the  Churches  on  the  river. 
In  the  first  place,  that  all  present  may  be  satisfied  respecting 
the  personal  piety  of  the  men  who  are  to  begin  the  Church, 
all  the  seven  successively  make  a  declaration  of  their  religious 
experience, — what  has  been  the  history  of  their  minds,  and 

*  Johnson,  Wonder-working  Prov.  II,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  vii,  40. 


40 

what  have  been  the  influences  and  effects  of  God's  grace 
upon  them.  Next,  that  they  may  make  it  clear,  that  their 
confidence  in  Christ  rests  upon  Christ  as  revealed  in  the  Word, 
they,  either  severally  or  jointly,  make  profession  of  their  faith, 
declaring  those  great  and  leading  doctrines  which  they  re- 
ceive as  the  substance  of  the  gospel.  If  on  any  point  farther 
explanations  are  desired,  questions  are  proposed  by  the  rep- 
resentatives of  neighboring  Churches,  till  all  are  satisfied. 
Then  they  unitedly  express  their  assent  to  a  written  form  of 
covenant,  in  nearly  the  same  words  in  which  the  covenant  of 
this  Church  is  now  expressed ; — after  which  they  receive 
from  the  representatives  of  the  neighboring  Churches,  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship,  recognizing  them  as  a  Church  of 
Christ,  invested  with  all  the  powers  and  privileges  which 
Christ  has  given  to  his  Churches. 

The  election  and  ordination  of  officers,  followed  very  soon 
after  the  organization  of  the  Church.  Mr.  Davenport  who  was, 
perhaps  even  more  than  any  other  man,  the  leader  of  the  enter- 
prise, was  chosen  pastor.  The  office  of  teacher,  and  that  of  rul- 
ing elder,  appear  to  have  been  left  vacant  for  a  season.  Mr. 
Samuel  Eaton,  who  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  having  been 
colleague  with  Mr.  Davenport,*  appears  not  to  have  sustained 
that  relation  after  the  Church  was  duly  gathered.  The  first 
deacons  were  Robert  Newman  and  Matthew  Gilbert,  who 
were  both  in  the  original  foundation  of  the  Church.  Mr. 
Davenport,  like  nearly  all  the  other  ministers  who  emigrated 
to  this  country  in  that  age,  had  been  regularly  ordained  to 
the  ministry  in  the  Church  of  England,  by  the  laying  on  of 
the  hands  of  a  bishop.  Yet  that  ordination  was  not  consid- 
ered as  giving  him  office  or  power  in  this  Church,  any 
more  than  a  man's  having  been  a  magistrate  in  England, 
would  give  him  power  to  administer  justice  in  this  jurisdic- 
tion. Accordingly  he  was  ordained,  or  solemnly  inducted 
into  office,  Mr.  Hooker  and  Mr.  Stone,  elders  of  the  Church 
in  Hartford,  being  present,  as  tradition  says,  to  assist  in  the 

*  Trumbull,  I,  286. 


41 

solemnity.*  The  act  of  ordination,  however,  in  such  cases, 
was  performed  by  two  or  more  brethren  in  the  name  of  the 
Church,  laying  their  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  pastor  elect, 
with  some  such  form  of  words  as  this,  "  We  ordain  thee  to 
be  pastor  unto  this  Church  of  Christ ;"  after  which  one  of  the 
elders  present  from  other  Churches,  proceeded  in  prayer  to 
God  for  his  special  assistance  to  his  servant  in  the  work,  and 
for  his  blessing  upon  the  Church,  the  pastor,  and  the  congre- 
gation.! The  pastor  having  been  thus  inducted  into  office, 
ordained  the  deacons. 

The  question  doubtless  arises  with  spme — Could  such  an 
ordination  have  any  validity,  or  confer  on  the  pastor  thus  or- 
dained any  authority  ?  Can  men,  by  a  voluntary  compact, 
form  themselves  into  a  Church  ?  and  can  the  Church  thus 
formed  impart  to  its  own  officers  the  power  of  administering 
ordinances  ?  If  Davenport  had  not  been  previously  ordained 
in  England,  would  not  his  administration  of  ordinances  have 
been  sacrilege  ?  Answer  me  another  question  :  How  could 
the  meeting  which  convened  in  Mr.  Newman's  barn,  origin- 
ate a  commonwealth  ?  How  could  the  commonwealth  thus 
originated,  impart  the  divine  authority  and  dignity  of  magis- 
trates to  officers  of  its  own  election  ?  How  could  a  few  men 
coming  together  here  in  the  wilderness,  without  commission 
from  king  or  parliament,  by  a  mere  voluntary  compact  among 
themselves,  give  being  to  a  state  ?  How  can  the  state  thus 
instituted,  have  power  to  make  laws  which  shall  bind  the 
minority  ?  What  right  had  they  to  erect  tribunals  of  justice  ? 
What  right  to  wield  the  sword  ?  What  right  to  inflict  pun- 
ishment, even  to  death,  upon  offenders  ?  Is  not  civil  gov- 
ernment a  divine  institution,  as  really  as  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper  ?  Is  not  the  "  duly  constituted"  magistrate  as 
truly  the  minister  of  God,  as  he  who  presides  over  the  Church 
and  labors  in  word  and  doctrine  ?  Whence  then  came  the 
authority  with  which  that  self  constituted  state,  meeting  in 
Mr.  Newman's  barn,  invested  its  elected  magistrates  ?  It  came 

*  Trumbull,  I,  285.  t  See  Appendix  No.  II. 


42 

directly  from  God,  the  only  fountain  of  authority.  Just  as 
directly  from  the  same  God,  came  the  authority  with  which 
the  equally  self  constituted  Church,  meeting  in  the  same 
place,  invested  its  elected  pastor.  Could  the  one  give  to  its 
magistrates  power  to  hang  a  murderer  in  the  name  of  God, — 
and  could  not  the  other  give  to  its  elders  power  to  administer 
baptism  ?* 

In  the  year  1644,  the  Rev.  William  Hooke,  who  had  been 
a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England;  and  who  upon  the  first 
settlement  of  Taunton  in  the  Plymouth  colony,  became  pas- 
tor of  the  Church  there,  was  ordained  teacher  in  this  Church  ; 
and  at  the  same  time,  probably,  Mr.  Robert  Newman,  one  of 
the  first  deacons,  was  ordained  ruling  elder.  The  ordina- 
tion in  this  case  was  of  course  performed  by  Mr.  Davenport, 
Mr.  Hooke  preaching,  on  the  occasion,  his  own  inauguration 
sermon.  Thus  the  Church  became  completely  supplied  with 
the  officers  which  every  Church  in  that  day  was  supposed  to 
need.  It  had  within  itself  a  complete  presbytery — a  full 
body  of  ordained  elders,  competent  to  maintain  a  regular  suc- 
cession, without  any  dependence  on  the  supposed  ordaining 
power  of  ministers  out  of  the  Church,  and  without  any  neces- 
sity of  resorting  to  the  extraordinary  measure  of  ordination 
by  persons  specially  delegated  for  that  purpose. 

The  three  elders,  one  of  whom  was  to  give  attention 
chiefly  to  the  administration  of  the  order  and  government  of 
the  Church,  while  the  others  were  to  labor  in  word  and  doc- 
trine, were  all  equally  and  in  the  same  sense  "  elders,"  or 
"  overseers"  of  the  flock  of  God.  The  one  was  a  mere 

*  Those  who  admire  '•'  the  judicious  Hooker,"  ought  not  to  be  startled  at 
this  doctrine.  Richard  Hooker  argues  thus  :  "  Another  extraordinary  kind 
of  vocation  is  where  the  exigence  of  necessity  doth  constrain  to  leave  the 
usual  ways  of  the  Church,  which  otherwise  we  would  willingly  keep.  Where 
the  Church  must  needs  have  some  ordained,  and  neither  hath  nor  can  possi- 
bly have  a  bishop  to  ordain;  in  case  of  such  necessity,  the  ordinary  institu- 
tion of  God  hath  given  oftentimes,  and  may  give  place.  And  therefore  we 
are  not,  simply  without  exception,  to  urge  a  lineal  descent  of  power  from  the 
apostles,  by  continued  succession  of  bishops  in  every  effectual  ordination." — 
Eccl.  Pol.,  B.  vii,  ch.  14. 


43 

elder;  but  the  others  were  elders  called  to  the  work  of 
preaching.  The  distinction  between  pastor  and  teacher  was 
theoretical,  rather  than  of  any  practical  importance.  Both 
were,  in  the  highest  sense,  ministers  of  the  gospel ;  as  col- 
leagues, they  preached  by  turns  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  on 
all  other  public  occasions  ;  they  had  an  equal  share  in  the 
administration  of  discipline  ;  and  if  Mr.  Davenport  was  more 
venerated  than  Mr.  Hooke,  and  had  more  influence  in  the 
Church  and  in  the  community  generally,  it  was  more  because 
of  the  acknowledged  personal  superiority  of  the  former  in 
respect  to  age  and  gifts  and  learning,  than  because  of  any 
official  disparity.  The  Cambridge  Platform,  which  was 
framed  in  1648,  and  with  which  Mr.  Davenport,  in  his  wri- 
tings on  church  government,  fully  agrees,  says,  in  denning 
the  difference  between  pastors  and  teachers,  "  The  pastor's 
special  work  is  to  attend  to  exhortation,  and  therein  to  ad- 
minister a  word  of  wisdom ;  the  teacher  is  to  attend  to  doc- 
trine, and  therein  to  administer  a  word  of  knowledge ;  and 
either  of  them  to  administer  the  seals  of  that  covenant  unto 
the  dispensation  whereof  they  are  alike  called ;  and  also  to 
execute  the  censures,  being  but  a  kind  of  application  of  the» 
word :  the  preaching  of  which,  together  with  the  application 
thereof,  they  are  alike  charged  withall."*  The  pastor  and 
teacher  gave  themselves  wholly  to  their  ministry  and  their 
studies,  and  accordingly  received  a  support  from  the  people  ; 
they  might  properly  be  called  clergymen.!  The  ruling 
elder  was  not  necessarily  educated  for  the  ministry;  he 
might,  without  impropriety,  pursue  some  secular  calling  ; 
and  though  he  fed  the  flock  occasionally  with  "  a  word  of 
admonition,"  the  ministry  was  not  his  profession.  Inas- 
much as  he  did  not  live  by  the  ministry,  he  was  a  layman. 

*  Chap,  vi,  Sect.  5. 

t  In  England,  a  clergyman  is  a  minister  of  the  Established  Church.  In 
this  country,  if  the  word  has  any  proper  meaning,  it  means,  not  every  one 
who  preaches,  or  every  one  who  is  licensed  or  ordained,  but  a  minister  who 
makes  the  ministry  his  profession.  A  merchant  or  mechanic  may  preach, 
and  may  be  ordained  ;  but  if  he  pursues  his  secular  calling,  he  is  not  a  cler- 
gyman. 


44 

The  ministers  were  supported,  not  from  the  treasury  of  the 
town — for  the  town  as  a  civil  corporation  had  nothing  to  do 
with  them — but  from  the  church  treasury  kept  by  the  dea- 
cons, and  this  church  treasury  was  supplied  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions.* This  appears  to  have  been  the  method  till  some 
time  after  the  union  of  the  New  Haven  colony  with  Connec- 
ticut. Instead  of  the  assessment  and  collection  of  a  tax,  as 
for  the  expenses  of  the  civil  government,  each  member  of  the 
congregation  was  called  upon  to  manifest  his  liberality,  his 
sense  of  justice,  his  affection  for  the  elders,  and  his  regard 
for  the  ordinances,  by  contributing,  of  his  own  will,  as  God 
had  prospered  him.  The  first  approach  towards  a  tax  for  the 
support  of  the  ministry,  was  made,  when  it  was  enacted, 
that  if  any  man  refused  to  contribute,  or  contributed  what 
was  manifestly  below  his  just  proportion,  he  might  be  com- 
pelled to  do  his  duty  in  this  matter,  f 

In  regard  to  the  views  of  Christian  doctrine  entertained  by 
the  founders  of  this  Church,  my  design,  at  present,  will  not 
permit  me  to  go  into  particulars.  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  in 
general,  that  their  doctrines  were  those  of  the  Reformation, 
.the  doctrines  of  Calvin  and  of  the  articles  and  homilies  of 
the  Church  of  England,  the  doctrines  of  such  bishops  as 
Latimer  and  Ridley,  and  of  such  archbishops  as  Cranmer  and 
Abbott,  the  same  doctrines  which  were  held  by  their  cotem- 
poraries  and  brethren,  the  divines  of  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly. While  they  regarded  with  great  dislike  the  scheme  of 
doctrine  which,  by  the  influence  of  Laud,  had  then  lately 
become  characteristic  of  the  adherents  of  prelacy,  and  from 
the  unhappy  influence  of  which  the  Church  of  England  is 
now  at  last  partly  delivered ;  they  had  no  sympathy  with  the 
mysticism  and  antinomianism  which,  in  that  age  of  excite- 
ment, broke  out  in  so  many  forms  in  various  quarters. 


*  With  some  this  was  considered  a  matter  of  divine  appointment.     Cong. 
Way  Justified,  9.  \:.f>_ 

t  This  was  the  provision  of  Gov.  Eaton's  code. 


45 

Their  mode  of  conducting  public  worship  was  not  materi- 
ally unlike  our  method  at  this  day.*  Every  sabbath  they 
came  together  at  the  beat  of  drum,  about  nine  o'clock,  or 
before.  The  pastor  began  with  solemn  prayer,  continuing 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  teacher  then  read  and  ex- 
pounded a  chapter.  Then  a  psalm  was  sung,  the  lines  being 
given  out  by  the  ruling  elder.  After  that,  the  pastor  deliv- 
ered his  sermon,  not  written  out  in  full,  but  from  notes  en- 
larged upon  in  speaking.  In  this  Church,  at  an  early  period, 
it  was  customary  for  the  congregation  to  rise  while  the 
preacher  read  his  text.  This  was  a  token  of  reverence  for 
the  word  of  God.f  After  the  sermon,  ^the  teacher  concluded 
with  prayer  and  a  blessing. 

Once  a  month,  as  now,  the  Lord's  supper  was  celebrated 
at  the  close  of  the  morning  service,  in  precisely  the  same 
forms  which  we  observe, — the  pastor,  teacher  and  ruling  el- 
der sitting  together  at  the  communion  table.  One  of  the 
ministers  performed  the  first  part  of  the  service,  and  the  other 
the  last,  the  order  in  which  they  officiated  being  reversed  at 
each  communion. 

The  assembly  convened  again  for  the  exercises  of  the  af- 
ternoon at  about  two  o'clock ;  and  the  pastor  having  com- 
menced as  in  the  morning  with  prayer,  and  a  psalm  having 
been  sung  as  before,  another  prayer  was  offered  by  the  teacher, 
who  then  preached,  as  the  pastor  did  in  the  morning,  and 
prayed  again. 

Then,  if  there  was  any  occasion,  baptism  was  administered, 
by  either  pastor  or  teacher,  the  officiating  minister  commonly 
accompanying  the  ordinance  with  exhortation  addressed  to 
the  Church  and  to  the  parents. 

Next  in  the  order  of  services,  was  the  contribution,  made 
every  Lord's  day  to  the  treasury  of  the  Church.  One  of  the 
deacons,  rising  in  his  place,  said,  "  Brethren  of  the  congrega- 
tion, now  there  is  time  left  for  contribution,  wherefore  as  God 

*  Most  of  the  particulars  that  follow  arc  derived  from  Lechford's  Plaine 
Dealing. 

t  Hutch.  I,  430. 


46 

hath  prospered  you,  so  freely  offer."  The  ministers,  when- 
ever there  was  any  extraordinary  occasion,  were  wont  to  ac- 
company the  call  with  some  earnest  exhortation  out  of  the 
Scriptures  urging  to  liberality.  The  contribution  was  re- 
ceived, not  by  passing  a  box  from  seat  to  seat,  but  first  the 
magistrates  and  principal  gentlemen,  then  the  elders,  and 
then  the  congregation  generally,  came  up  to  the  deacon's 
seat  by  one  way  and  returned  orderly  to  their  own  seats  by 
another  way.*  Each  individual  contributed  either  money, 
or  a  written  promise  to  pay  some  certain  amount,  or  any  thing 
else  that  was  convenient  arid  proper.  Money  and  subscrip- 
tions were  placed  in  the  contribution  box, — other  offerings 
were  laid  down  before  the  deacons.  It  may  be  that  some  of 
the  ancient  silver  cups  now  used  in  our  monthly  communion, 
were  given  in  this  way. 

After  the  contribution,  the  assembly  being  not  yet  dis- 
missed, if  there  were  any  members  to  be  admitted  into  the 
Church,  or  any  to  be  propounded  for  admission,  or  if  there 
were  cases  of  offense  and  discipline  to  be  acted  upon  by  the 
Church,  such  things  were  attended  to;  and  then  another 
psalm  was  sung,  if  the  day  was  not  too  far  spent,  and  the 
pastor  closed  the  services  with  prayer  and  the  blessing. 

In  the  Church,  a  meeting  was  held  weekly  on  Tuesday, 
where  the  members  of  the  Church  by  themselves  conferred 
together  on  religious  subjects,  and  the  ministers,  as  they  had 
occasion,  communicated  appropriate  instruction  and  exhorta- 
tion.f  There  were  also  stated  "private  meetings"  in  the 
different  districts  of  the  town,  at  which  the  brethren  exercised 
their  gifts  for  mutual  instruction  and  edification.J  Besides 
which,  there  was  a  stated  public  lecture  on  Wednesday, 
whether  monthly  before  the  communion,  or  more  frequently, 
I  am  not  able  to  determine. 

The  discipline  of  offenders  against  the  laws  of  Christ,  was 
strict,  and  conducted  with  no  respect  of  persons.^  Every 

*  Many  allusions  in  the  Records  of  the  Church  and  of  the  town,  confirm 
Lechford's  testimony  on  this  point.  t  Church  Records. 

J  Town  Records,  7th  Aug.  1655.  §  See  Appendix  III. 


47 

case  that  was  brought  before  the  Church  at  all,  was  made 
ready  for  the  action  of  the  Church  by  the  elders,  and  chiefly 
by  the  ruling  elder.  At  the  proper  time,  the  offender  was 
called  forth  by  the  ruling  elder.  A  statement  was  made  show- 
ing the  previous  proceedings  in  the  case,  after  which  the  rul- 
ing elder  read  the  particulars  charged,  showing  under  each 
particular,  what  rule  of  the  word  of  God  was  broken.  Ev- 
ery specification  was  proved  by  the  testimony  of  at  least  two 
witnesses.  After  the  reading  of  the  charges  with  the  testi- 
mony, the  ruling  elder  called  on  the  offender  to  object,  if  he 
would,  to  the  facts  that  were  charged  upon  him.  The  of- 
fender having  spoken,  or  declined  speaking,  it  was  put  to  the 
brethren,  to  declare  by  their  vote,  whether  the  facts  were 
sufficiently  proved  by  the  witnesses.  This  point  having 
been  decided,  it  was  next  put  to  the  brethren,  to  declare  by 
their  vote,  whether  the  several  rules  the  violation  of  which 
was  charged  upon  the  offender,  were  rightly  applied  to  the 
several  facts.  This  having  been  voted,  it  was  proposed  to 
the  brethen  to  consider  whether,  in  view  of  the  facts  proved, 
and  of  the  rules  broken,  the  offender  should  presently  be  cast 
out,  or  whether  the  case  would  admit  of  an  admonition  only 
at  the  present  time.  If  on  this  question  there  seemed  any 
want  of  clearness  or  unanimity,  one  or  both  of  the  ministers 
spoke  to  "  hold  forth  light"  and  to  clear  away  perplexities. 
If  it  was  decided  that  admonition  was  sufficient  for  the  pres- 
ent, the  sentence  of  admonition  was  forthwith  pronounced 
by  the  pastor,  if  the  offense  was  one  that  related  to  morals, 
or  by  the  teacher  if  it  was  an  offense  in  respect  to  doctrine. 
After  a  public  admonition,  the  Church  of  course  waited  for  a 
proper  time,  "  expecting  the  fruit  of  it"  in  the  repentance 
and  reformation  of  the  offender.  Meanwhile  the  elders  la- 
bored with  him  as  they  had  opportunity,  to  further  his  repent- 
ance. But  if  after  a  proper  time  there  appeared  in  the  offender 
no  satisfactory  evidence  of  inward  reformation,  the  case  was 
taken  up  again,  and  in  the  presence  perhaps  of  delegates 
from  other  Churches,  the  sentence  of  excommunication  was 
solemnly  pronounced.  It  is  reported  by  one  writer  of  that 


48 

age,  as  a  strange  peculiarity,  "that  at  New  Haven,  alias 
Quinapeag,  where  Master  Davenport  is  Pastor,"  an  excom- 
municated person  was  not  allowed  to  enter  into  the  worship- 
ing assembly  at  all,  till  by  the  consent  of  the  Church,  and  by 
a  formal  absolution,  the  censure  was  taken  off.*  I  should 
have  presumed  this  to  be  a  mistake,  had  I  not  found  in  our 
early  church  records  some  incidental  expressions  which  seem 
to  confirm  it. 

The  first  house  for  public  worship  erected  in  New  Haven, 
was  commenced  in  1639.  The  order  that  such  a  house 
should  be  built  forthwith,  was  passed  in  the  town  meeting, 
on  the  25th  of  November.  The  cost  of  the  building  was  to 
be  £500;  and  to  raise  that  sum,  a  tax  of  1£  per  cent,  was 
levied,  all  to  be  paid  before  the  following  May.  The  house 
was  fifty  feet  square.  It  had  a  tower,  surmounted  with  a 
turret.  It  is  said  to  have  stood  near  the  spot  where  the  flag- 
staff now  stands ;  but  it  seems  more  than  probable  that  it 
stood  farther  west,  perhaps  half  way  between  that  spot  and 
the  spot  where  this  house  stands. 

The  internal  arrangements  of  the  house,  so  far  as  a  know- 
ledge of  them  can  be  gathered  from  the  records,  or  inferred 
from  what  we  know  of  the  primitive  meeting-houses,  are 
easily  described.  Immediately  before  the  pulpit,  and  facing 
the  congregation,  was  an  elevated  seat  for  the  ruling  elder  ; 
and  before  that,  somewhat  lower,  was  a  seat  for  the  deacons, 
behind  the  communion  table.  On  the  floor  of  the  house 
there  were  neither  pews  nor  slips,  but  plain  seats.  On  each 
side  of  what  we  may  call  the  center  aisle,  were  nine,  of  suffi- 
cient length  to  accommodate  five  or  six  persons.  On  each 
side  of  the  pulpit  at  the  end,  were  five  cross  seats,  and  ano- 
ther shorter  than  the  five.  Along  each  wall  of  the  house, 
between  the  cross  seats  and  the  side  door,  were  four  seats, 

*  Lechford,  13.  Lechford  was  probably  lawyer  enough  to  know  that  the 
same  rule  obtained  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  that  the  excommunicate, 
besides  being  excluded  from  the  place  of  worship,  was  liable  to  a  penalty 
every  Sunday  for  his  constrained  absence.  Good  old  Oliver  Heywood  found 
that  this  was  no  dead  letter.  Heywood,  Works,  I,  100. 


49 

and  beyond  the  side  door,  six.  The  men  and  women  were 
seated  separately  on  opposite  sides  of  the  house ;  and  every 
one,  according  to  his  office  or  his  age  or  his  rank  in  society, 
had  his  place  assigned  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose.* The  children  and  young  people,  at  the  first  seating, 
seem  to  have  been  left  to  find  their  own  places,  away  from 
their  parents,  in  that  part  of  the  house  which  was  not  occu- 
pied with  seats  prepared  at  the  town's  expense.  If  this  was 
the  case,  it  cannot  be  wondered  at,  that  within  five  or  six 
years  after  the  first  seating,  and  so  on  as  long  as  the  practice 
continued,  the  regulation  of  the  boys  in  the  meeting  house, 
and  the  ways  and  means  of  suppressing  disorders  among 
them,  were  frequent  subjects  of  discussion  and  enactment  in 
the  town  meetings.  A  congregation  ought  always  to  present 
itself  in  the  house  of  God  by  families.  The  separating  of 
the  heads  of  the  family  from  each  other,  and  the  children 
from  both,  in  the  house  of  God,  was  a  serious  and  mischiev- 
ous mistake. 

That  humble  edifice, — humble  in  comparison  with  the 
spacious  and  beautiful  structures  that  now  adorn  the  same 
green  spot, — was  built  and  maintained  in  repair  with  an  hon- 
orable zeal  for  public  worship.  It  was  one  of  the  many 
calamities  of  the  colonists  here,  that  the  meeting  house, 
through  the  unfaithfulness  or  incompetency  of  some  of  the 
workmen,  very  soon  began  to  require  expensive  repairs.  The 
main  posts  of  the  building  not  being  properly  secured,  it  be- 
came necessary  in  a  few  years  to  keep  them  in  their  places  by 
shores  and  props, — a  circumstance  which  helped  Mr.  Daven- 
port to  an  illustration,  when  in  one  of  his  sermons,  showing 
that  as  Laban  fared  the  better  for  Jacob  ;  Potiphar,  Pharaoh, 
and  all  Egypt  for  Joseph ;  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom  for  Lot ; 
and  the  mariners  and  all  that  were  in  the  ship  for  Paul ;  so 
the  world  fares  the  better  for  the  saints — he  added,  "  The  holy 
seed  are  (n5i£fc)  the  props  that  shore  up  the  places  where 
they  live,  that  the  wrath  of  God  does  not  overwhelm  them."f 

*  See  Appendix  No.  IV.  t  Saints'  Anchor-hold,  24. 


50 

In  such  a  temple,  the  fathers  of  New  Haven  maintained 
the  worship  and  ordinances  of  God  for  about  thirty  years. 
During  all  that  time  they  never  met  for  worship,  even  in  the 
most  tranquil  times,  without  a  complete  military  guard.  As 
early  as  1640,  we  find  upon  the  records  an  order,  that  "  every 
man  that  is  appointed  to  watch,  whether  masters  or  servants, 
shall  come  every  Lord's  day  to  the  meeting  completely  armed  ; 
and  all  others,  also,  are  to  bring  their  swords,  no  man  exempted 
save  Mr.  Eaton,  our  Pastor,  Mr.  James,  Mr.  Samuel  Eaton, 
and  the  two  deacons."  And  from  time  to  time,  the  number 
of  men  that  were  to  bear  arms  on  the  Sabbath  days,  and 
other  days  of  public  assembly,  the  time  at  which  they  should 
appear  at  the  meeting  house,  and  the  places  which  they  should 
occupy,  were  made  the  subjects  of  particular  regulation.  Seats 
were  placed,  on  each  side  of  the  front  door,  for  the  soldiers. 
A  sentinel  was  stationed  in  the  turret.  Armed  watchmen 
paced  the  streets,  while  the  people  were  assembled  for  wor- 
ship. And  whenever  rumors  came  of  conspiracies  among 
the  Indians  at  a  distance,  or  there  seemed  to  be  any  special 
occasion  of  alarm,  the  Sabbath  guards  and  sentries  at  once 
became. more  vigilant,  and  the  house  of  God  bristled  with 
augmented  preparations  for  defense.  For  example,  in  March, 
1653.  there  being  apprehensions  of  an  Indian  invasion,  and  a 
town  meeting  being  held,  that  nothing  needful  in  such  cir- 
cumstances might  be  neglected,  we  find  it  ordered,  among 
other  particulars,  that  "  the  door  of  the  meeting  house  next 
the  soldiers'  seat  be  kept  clear  from  women  and  children  sit- 
ting there,  that  if  there  be  occasion  for  the  soldiers  to  go  sud- 
denly forth,  they  may  have  a  free  passage."  Of  the  six 
pieces  of  artillery  belonging  to  the  town,  three  were  stationed 
always  by  the  water  side,  and  three  by  the  meeting  house. 
Twice  before  each  assembly,  the  drum  was  beaten  in  the  tur- 
ret and  along  the  principal  streets,  and  when  the  congregation 
came  together,  it  presented  the  appearance  of  an  assembly  in 
a  garrison. 

Yet  how  strictly  were  their  Sabbaths  sanctified.  "  From 
evening  to  evening,"  no  unnecessary  labor  was  any  where 


51 

permitted.  Let  us  go  back,  for  a  moment,  to  one  of  those 
ancient  Sabbaths.  You  see  in  the  morning  no  motion,  save 
as  the  herds  go  forth  to  their  pasture  in  the  common  grounds, 
each  herd  accompanied  by  two  or  three  armed  herdsmen. 
At  the  appointed  hour,  the  drum  having  been  beaten  both 
the  first  time  and  the  second,  the  whole  population,  from 
the  dwellings  of  the  town,  and  from  the  farms  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  come  together  in  the  place  of  prayer.  The  senti- 
nel is  placed  in  the  turret  j  those  who  are  to  keep  ward,  go 
forth,  pacing,  two  by  two,  the  still  green  lanes.  In  the  mean 
time,  we  take  our  places  in  the  assembly.  In  this  rude  un- 
finished structure,  is  devotion  true  and  pure, — worship,  more 
solemn  for  the  lack  of  outward  pomp.  The  learned  and 
fervent  Davenport,  and  the  rhetorical  and  polished  Hooke, 
divide  between  them  the  duties  of  the  pulpit.  Before  them  are 
such  hearers  as  the  honored  Eaton,  Goodyear,  and  Gregson ; 
the  warriors  Turner  and  Seely  ;  the  Newmans,  discreet  and 
beloved ;  the  modest  and  true  hearted  Gibbard ;  and,  that  ter- 
ror to  inattentive  school  boys,  Master  Ezekiel  Cheever.* 
Sometimes,  too,  we  might  see  in  the  audience,  that  father  of 
his  country,  venerable  alike  as  a  philosopher,  a  statesman,  a 
patriot  and  a  saint, — the  younger  Winthrop.f  Through  a 
long  course  of  exercises,  which  would  weary  out  the  men  of 
our  degenerate  days,  these  hearers  sit  or  stand  with  most  ex- 
emplary attention.  They  love  the  word  that  comes  from  the 
lips  of  their  pastor.  They  love  the  order  of  this  house.  For 
the  privilege  of  uniting  in  these  forms  of  worship,  of  hearing 
the  gospel  thus  preached,  of  living  under  this  religious  con- 
stitution, and  of  thus  extending  in  the  world  the  kingdom 
which  is  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy,  they  undertook  the 
work  of  planting  this  wilderness.  To  them  each  sermon, 
every  prayer,  every  tranquil  Sabbath  is  the  more  precious  for 
all  that  it  has  cost  them.  It  is  not  strange,  then,  that  their 

*  Some  account  of  several  of  the  worthies  named  above,  will  be  found  in 
the  Appendix  No.  V. 

t  The  reader  will  also  find  some  notices  of  Governor  Winthrop  in  the  Ap- 
pendix No.  VI. 


52 

attention  is  awake  through  these  long  services,  till,  as  the 
day  declines,  they  retire  to  their  dwellings,  and  close  the 
Sabbath  with  family  worship  and  the  catechising  of  their 
children.  I  seem  to  hear  the  utterance  of  their  piety  in  that 
old  stave  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  : 

"  Go  walke  about  all  Syon  hill,  yea  round  about  her  go ; 
And  tell  the  towres  that  thereupon  are  builded  on  a  roe  : 
And  marke  you  well  her  bulwarkes  all, behold  her  towres  there ; 
That  ye  may  tell  thereof  to  them  that  after  shall  be  here. 
For  this  God  is  our  God,  forevermore  is  hee; 
Yea  and  unto  the  death  also,  our  guider  shall  he  be." 

Thus  the  years  went  on,  each  year  bringing  its  changes, 
its  hopes,  its  disappointments  and  sorrows ;  till  those  who 
came  hither  in  the  prime  of  life,  had  grown  gray  and  feeble, 
or  were  seen  no  more.  Meanwhile  one  spot  behind  the  meet- 
ing house,  marked  with  a  few  rude  monumental  stones,  was 
becoming  continually  more  and  more  sacred  to  the  affections 
of  the  people.  One  and  another,  with  whom  they  had  often 
walked  to  the  house  of  God, — one  and  another  whose  faith 
had  dared  the  sea,  and  whose  constancy  had  triumphed  over 
the  temptations  of  the  wilderness,  had  there  been  gathered  to 
the  congregation  of  the  dead.  There  slept  the  pious  Edward 
Tench  and  his  wife,  who  dying  within  a  few  months  after 
their  arrival  here,  had  committed  their  only  child  to  God  and 
to  the  Church,  "  by  faith,  giving  commandment"  concerning 
the  child,  that  it  should  not  "  go  back  to  the  country  from 
which  they  had  come  forth."*  There  one  of  the  first  graves 
was  made  for  the  widow  of  that  Francis  Higginson  who  was 
the  first  minister  of  Salem,  and  who  dying  just  after  his  set- 
tlement there,  had  left  her  with  eight  young  children  to  the 
protection  of  a  covenant  God.f  There,  after  the  lapse  of 
some  twenty  years  from  the  beginning,  when  many  of  the 
loved  and  honored  among  them  had  rested  from  their  labors, 
the  dust  of  Allerton,J  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the 

*  See  Appendix  No.  VII.   "  t  Kingsley,  Hist.  Disc.  55, 102. 

t  Isaac  Allerton  was  the  fifth  of  the  signers  of  the  celebrated  civil  compact 
of  Nov.  11, 1620.  He  was  a  principal  man  in  the  Plymouth  Colony,  and  was 


53 

Pilgrims  of  the  May  Flower,  was  laid  among  the  fathers  of 
New  Haven.  And  every  new  mound  that  was  erected  there, 
fastened  some  survivor  to  the  soil,  by  a  new  tie  of  sacred  af- 
fection. Who,  when  he  thinks  of  dying,  would  not  rather 
die  where  he  may  be  buried  among  the  graves  of  his  kindred. 
When  the  emigrant  turns  his  face  towards  some  new  country, 
it  is  painful  to  leave  the  familiar  walks,  the  haunts  of  child- 
hood, the  old  homestead,  but  more  painful  still  to  leave  the 
sanctuary  and  the  burial  place.  Those  little  graves,  which 
the  mother  visits  so  often,  weeping, — that  green  mound, 
which  covers  the  dust  of  a  parent  or  a  brother, — that  blos- 
soming shrub,  which  sheds  its  annual  fragrance  round  a  sis- 
ter's resting  place — every  thing  here  is  holy  to  the  eye  of 
affection. 

Such  considerations,  doubtless,  had  an  influence  in  deter- 
mining the  colonists  of  New  Haven,  once  and  again,  during 
the  period  of  their  deepest  depression,  not  to  abandon  the  set- 
tlement. When  the  plan  of  removing  to  Delaware  Bay  was 
seriously  agitated ;  when  their  friend  Cromwell  proposed  to 
them  a  home  in  Jamaica ;  when  he  offered  them  a  place  with 
many  privileges  in  Ireland  ;  it  was  not  a  mere  calculation  of 
interest,  certainly, — far  less  was  it  a  mere  deficiency  of  the 
spirit  of  enterprise, — that  prevented  the  removal.  It  was  in 
part  the  force  of  affection,  a  natural  sentiment  of  attachment 
to  the  soil  that  had  been  hallowed  by  labor  and  peril,  by  hope 
and  disappointment,  by  happiness  and  grief,  by  having  been 
the  birth  place  of  their  children,  and  by  embosoming  the 
ashes  of  their  friends.  He  who  has  no  such  attachment  to 
the  soil  on  which  he  lives  and  has  his  home,  lacks  one  of  the 
better  elements  of  human  nature.  This  is  one  ingredient  of 
the  complicated  sentiment  which  we  call  love  of  country. 

one  year  deputy  governor  there.  He  was  a  merchant,  and  deserves  a  monu- 
ment as  the  father  of  the  commerce  of  New  England.  Owing  to  some  cause, 
not  now  to  be  explained, — perhaps  an  attachment  to  Roger  Williams, — he 
left  Plymouth,  about  the  year  1633,  and  established  himself  at  Marblehead, 
then  a  part  of  Salem.  Afterwards  he  resided  at  Jhe  Manhadoes.  In  the  year 
1647,  we  find  him  an  inhabitant  of  New  Haven  ;  and  here  he  died  in  1659. — 
III,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  vii,  243. 


54 

What  New  Englander  is  he  who  does  not  love  the  soil  of 
New  England,  and  take  pleasure  in  the  stories  and  dust 
thereof?  To  us  these  mountains  are  dear,  these  rushing 
streams,  these  rocks  and  valleys — dear  by  all  the  associations 
of  ancient  devotion  and  valor,  or  of  living  affection  and  en- 
joyment, that  cluster  around  each  spot,  adorning  the  rude 
forms  of  nature  with  invisible  beauty. 

The  graves  of  the  fathers  are  among  us :  our  sanctuaries,  our 
seats  of  legislation  and  of  justice,  our  schools,  our  very  dwel- 
lings are  their  monument.  The  land  itself  that  spreads  its 
green  sod  over  their  dust, — this  land  of  their  hardships  and 
perils,  now  covered  with  civilization,  filled  with  wealth,  and 
decorated  with  multiplying  works  of  art,  is  their  mausoleum. 
Never  may  their  graves  be  found  among  a  people  disowning 
their  spirit,  or  dishonoring  their  memory. 


DISCOURSE   IV. 

SPECIMENS  OP  PURITAN  MINISTERS  IN  THE    NEW  HAVEN  COLONY. 
PRUDDEN,   SHERMAN,  JAMES,  EATON,  HOOKE. 

HEB.  xiii,  7,  8. —  *  *  *  \Vhose  faith  follow,  considering  the  end  of  their 
conversation  ;  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  forever. 

I  PROCEED  now  to  give  some  notices  of  the  lives  and  char- 
acters of  a  few  among  the  founders  of  this  religious  society  ; 
so  far  as  distinct  memorials  of  them  can  be  gathered  from 
various  records  and  historical  documents. 

Five  ministers  of  the  gospel,  educated  at  the  English  Uni- 
versities, were  in  the  company  which  came  from  Boston  to 
duinnipiack  in  1638  ; — two  of  whom,  the  Rev.  Peter  Prud- 
den  and  the  Rev.  John  Sherman,  went  to  Milford  ;  the  other 
three,  the  Rev.  Thomas  James,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Eaton,  and 
the  Rev.  John  Davenport,  remained  here. 

Though  it  does  not  pertain  to  the  design  of  these  discourses 
to  speak  particularly  of  the  first  two,  it  will  not  be  improper 
to  bestow  a  few  words  upon  each  of  them.  :  Mr.  PRUDDEN 
came  from  England  with  Mr.  Davenport  in  1637,  having 
previously  labored  with  great  success  in  his  native  country, 
and  being  followed  by  a  company  of  people  from  Hereford- 
shire, and  the  adjoining  parts  of  Wales,  who  expected  still  to 
enjoy  his  ministry.  He  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  Church 
in  Milford  in  1640, — the  ordination  being  performed  at  New 
Haven, — and  continued  in  that  office  till  his  death,  in  1656. 
Cotton  Mather  testifies  concerning  him,  that  "besides  his 
other  excellent  qualities,  he  was  noted  for  a  singular  faculty 
to  sweeten,  compose,  and  qualify  exasperated  spirits,  and  stop 
or  heal  all  contentions : — whence  it  was  that  his  town  of  Mil- 
ford  enjoyed  peace  with  truth  all  his  days,  notwithstanding 
some  dispositions  to  variance  which  afterwards  broke  out." 
Hubbard  gives  us  the  additional  information,  that  "  he  had 


56 

a  better  faculty  than  many  of  his  coat  to  accommodate  him- 
self to  the  difficult  circumstances  of  the  country,  so  as  to 
provide  comfortably  for  his  numerous  family,  yet  without  in- 
decent distractions  from  his  study."  All  accounts  unite  in 
describing  him  as  distinguished  by  fervor  and  power  in  the 
pulpit.* 

Mr.  SHERMAN,  though  regularly  educated  at  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  and  distinguished  for  his  proficiency,  had 
taken  no  degree,  his  conscience  refusing  a  compliance  with 
the  conditions  of  graduation.  He  came  to  this  country  in 
1634,  and  was  among  the  first  settlers  of  Watertown  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  he  preached  his  first  sermon.  Coming 
with  the  company  who  founded  this  new  colony,  he  united 
with  the  Church  in  Milford,  and  at  the  organization  of  that 
Church  was  chosen  teacher.  This  call  he  declined  ;  and 
after  a  few  years  residence  in  the  New  Haven  colony, 
preaching  occasionally — and  sometimes  serving  the  public  as 
a  member  of  the  General  Court  for  the  jurisdiction,  he  returned 
to  Watertown,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Church  there.  He 
was,  for  his  day,  a  great  master  of  mathematical  and  astro- 
nomical science,  which  he  occasionally  employed  in  making 
the  calculations  for  a  Christian  Almanack.  As  a  preacher,  he 
was  much  admired  for  "a  natural  and  not  affected  loftiness  of 
style,  which  with  an  easy  fluency  bespangled  his  discourses 
with  such  glittering  figures  of  oratory,  as  caused  his  ablest 
hearers  to  call  him  a  second  Isaiah, — the  honey  dropping  and 
golden  mouthed  preacher."  As  the  chief  officer  of  a  Church, 
he  was  distinguished  by  his  "wisdom  and  kindness."  He 
died  in  1685,  in  the  seventy  second  year  of  his  age,  having 
been,  in  two  marriages,  the  father  of  twenty  six  children.! 
For  his  second  wife  he  married  a  young  lady  of  noble  extrac- 
tion,— granddaughter  of  the  earl  of  Rivers, — who,  being  a 
ward  of  Governor  Hopkins,  lived  here  before  her  marriage  in 


*  Hubbard,  328.     Magnalia,  III,  93.    Trumbull,  1, 294.     Farmer,  Genealo- 
gical Register. 

t  Six  of  these  children  were  by  the  first  marriage,  twenty  by  the  second. 


57 

the  family  of  Governor  Eaton.  This  distinguished  man  is 
the  more  naturally  remembered  in  this  connection,  inasmuch 
as  within  less  than  a  century  after  his  death,  a  citizen  of  New 
Haven,  once  like  him  an  almanack  maker,  and  probably  of 
the  same  lineage  with  him,  though  not  directly  descended 
from  him,  affixed  the  name  of  Sherman  to  the  memorable 
instrument  which  forever  absolved  the  United  States  of  Am- 
erica, from  their  allegiance  to  the  British  crown.* 

The  Rev.  THOMAS  JAMES,  before  coming  to  this  country, 
had  labored  as  a  minister  with  approbation  and  success,  in 
Lincolnshire.  He  came  over  in  the  year  1632,  and  immedi- 
ately became  pastor  of  the  Church  in  ^harlestown,  which 
Church  was  at  that  time  first  separated  from  the  Church  in 
Boston.  Having  lived  there  three  years  and  a  half,  he  re- 
signed his  pastoral  charge  on  account  of  difficulties  between 
himself  and  a  part  of  his  people,  originating,  as  Gov.  Win- 
throp  informs  us,  in  his  melancholy  temper.  In  the  expecta- 
tion, probably,  of  finding  employment  as  pastor  or  teacher  in 
some  of  the  Churches  to  be  formed  in  the  new  colony,  he 
came  to  this  place  with  the  first  settlers,  and  resided  here  as 
a  planter  for  several  years. 

In  1642,  a  gentleman  of  Virginia  came  to  Boston  with  let- 
ters, addressed  to  the  ministers  of  New  England,  from  many 
well  disposed  people  in  the  upper  and  newer  parts  of  Virginia, 
11  bewailing  their  sad  condition  for  want  of  the  means  of  sal- 
vation, and  earnestly  entreating  a  supply  of  faithful  ministers, 
whom,  upon  experience  of  their  gifts  and  godliness,  they 
might  call  to  office."  These  letters  having  been  publicly 
read  at  Boston  on  a  lecture  day,  the  elders  of  the  Churches  in 
that  neighborhood  met,  and  having  devoted  a  day  to  consul- 
tation and  prayer  in  reference  to  so  serious  a  proposal,  agreed 
upon  three  settled  ministers  who  they  thought  might  best  be 
spared,  each  of  them  having  a  teaching  colleague.  There- 
suit  was,  that  two  ministers,  Mr.  Knolles  of  Waterto'wn  and 
Mr.  Tompson  of  Braintree,  were  by  their  Churches  dismissed 

*  Mather,  Magn.  Ill,  162.     Church  Records. 
8 


58 

to  that  work,  and  went  forth  upon  the  mission  under  the 
patronage  of  the  General  Court.*  To  this  mission, — the  first 
American  home  missionary  undertaking, — the  Rev.  Thomas 
James  of  New  Haven  was  added.  The  mission  was  not  un- 
successful ;  "  they  found  very  loving  and  liberal  entertain- 
ment, and  were  bestowed  in  several  places,  not  by  the  gov- 
ernor, but  by  some  well  disposed  people  who  desired  their 
company."  Their  ministry  there  was  greatly  blessed,  and 
greatly  sought  by  the  people ;  and  though  the  government 
of  that  colony  interfered  to  prevent  their  preaching,  "  because 
they  would  not  conform  to  the  order  of  England,"  "the  peo- 
ple resorted  to  them,  in  private  houses,  to  hear  them  as  be- 
fore."! Their  preaching,  even  in  this  more  private  manner, 
was  not  tolerated.  An  order  was  made,  that  those  ministers 
who  would  not  conform  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of 
England  should,  by  such  a  day,  depart  from  the  country.^ 
Thus  their  mission  being  brought  to  an  end,  they  came  back 
to  New  England. 

Afterwards,  during  the  period  of  the  suppression  of  monar- 
chy and  prelacy  in  his  native  country,  Mr.  James  returned  to 
England,  leaving  here  a  son  of  the  same  name,  who  was  for 
many  years  a  member  of  this  Church,,  and  was  afterwards 
the  first  minister  of  Easthampton,  on  Long  Island.  The 
father  obtained  a  settlement  in  the  parish  Church  of  Needham, 
in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  in  England,  from  which  he  was 
ejected  by  the  act  of  uniformity,  in  1662.  He  had  a  pretty 
numerous  Church  after  his  ejection  ;  and  he  left  behind  him, 
there,  the  reputation  of  an  eminently  holy  man.  It  may  be 
added,  as  an  illustration  of  the  indignities  to  which  the  ejected 
ministers  of  1662  were  subjected,  that  "  though  he  was  much 
beloved  and  esteemed,  yet,  when  he  died,  the  clergyman 
who  came  in  his  place  would  not  allow  him  to  be  buried  in 
any  other  part  of  the  churchyard,  but  that  unconsecrated 
corner  left  for  rogues,  whores,  and  excommunicates, — though 

*  Winthrop,  II,  78.        t  Winthrop,  II,  96.        I  Mather,  Magn.  Ill,  216. 


59 

the  clergyman  owed  his  benefice  to  the  noble  uprightness  of 
Mr.  James's  heart."* 

The  Rev.  SAMUEL  EATON,  whom  I  have  mentioned  on  a 
former  occasion,  resided  in  this  place  till  the  year  1640,  when 
he  returned  to  England  with  the  design  of  gathering  there  a 
company  of  emigrants  who  should  settle  what  was  afterwards 
called  Branford,  that  tract  having  been  granted  him  "  for  such 
friends  as  he  should  bring  over  from  Old  England."  Being 
detained  awhile  at  Boston,  his  occasional  services  in  that 
place  excited  so  much  interest,  that  earnest  proposals  were 
made  to  him  for  a  permanent  settlement  there, — which  he 
rejected.  Arriving  in  England  at  a  time  when  the  Estab- 
lished Church  seemed  to  be  about  to  undergo  a  general  and 
thorough  reformation,  and  when  men  of  the  Puritan  party, 
no  longer  driven  into  banishment  by  persecution,  had  the 
strongest  hopes  of  the  political  and  religious  renovation  of 
their  own  country,  he  found  more  encouragement  to  remain 
there  than  to  come  back  into  this  wilderness.  He  became 
teacher  of  a  Congregational  Church  gathered  at  Duckenfield, 
in  Cheshire,  his  native  county,  whence  he  removed,  proba- 
bly with  some  part  of  his  congregation,  to  the  neighboring 
borough  of  Stockport.  In  this  place,  he  had  difficulty  with 
his  people,  some  of  whom,  it  is  said,  "  ran  things  to  a  great 
height,  and  grew  wiser  than  their  minister."  He  also  was 
one  of  the  two  thousand  ministers  who,  in  1662,  were  silenced 
in  one  day,  by  the  act  of  uniformity — not  merely  turned  out 
of  their  livings,  but  silenced,  because  they  could  riot  submit 
to  all  that  was  required  by  the  rubrics  and  canons  of  the  na- 
tional Church.  After  his  ejection,  many  of  his  old  hearers 

*  Calamy.— Prince's  Annals,  71,  72.  The  learned  editor  of  Winthrop,  in 
his  note  on  Thomas  James,  (I,  94,)  is  a  little  too  severe  upon  Mather.  That 
quaint  and  conceited  historian  does  not  "  blunder  in  giving  two  of  the  name" 
of  James  ;  nor  had  he  been  careful  enough  to  ascertain  "  the  name  of  baptism 
of  both"  would  he  have  "inferred  the  identity  of  the  person."  Mather  is 
the  most  vexatious  of  all  writers ;  for  it  is  evident  on  almost  every  page,  that 
he  suppresses  much  information  pertinent  to  his  subject,  for  the  sake  of  lug- 
ging in  his  "ass's  load"  of  pedantic  lumber;  but  it  is  easier  to  suspect  him, 
than  to  convict  him,  of  a  positive  inaccuracy  in  such  matters. 


60 

who  had  disliked  him  much  while  he  was  their  minister,  be- 
ing now  brought  to  commune  with  him  in  difficulties  and 
sufferings,  "  were  wrought  into  a  better  temper."  He  suf- 
fered many  things  not  only  from  the  persecution  which  raged 
against  the  silenced  ministers,  being  "several  times  brought 
into  trouble  and  imprisoned,"  but  from  many  other  sources, — 
till,  on  the  9th  of  June,  1665,  he  died  at  Denton  in  Lancashire, 
and  was  buried  in  the  chapel  there.  He  is  described  as  hav- 
ing been  "a  very  holy  man,  of  great  learning  and  judgment, 
and  an  incomparable  preacher."  His  funeral  sermon  was 
preached,  according  to  his  own  appointment,  from  the  words 
of  Job,  (xix,  25-27,)  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth," 
&c.  The  preacher  on  that  occasion  dwelt  much  on  the 
afflictions  of  the  deceased.  The  departed  good  man  was 
spoken  of  as  having  been  "  much  afflicted  in  his  estate  in  the 
times  of  the  former  bishops,"  and  as  having  been  more  re- 
cently "  afflicted  in  his  body,  liberty,  friends,  good  name,  and 
oft  times  and  many  ways  troubled  and  grieved  in  his  spirit." 
His  afflictions  had  been  "  many  and  great,  and  some  of  long 
continuance."  He  had  been  wronged  in  his  good  name, 
"  not  by  enemies,  but  friends."  "  He  had  suffered  for  a  sea- 
son the  loss  of  speech,  being  thus  unfitted  for  public  service." 
"  Some  of  those  to  whom  he  had  preached,  and  with  whom 
he  had  walked,  had  greatly  distressed  his  heart  with  their 
errors  in  doctrine,  and  their  scandals  and  divisions  ;  some 
had  returned  him  evil  for  good,  and  hatred  for  good  will,  and 
had  filled  him  with  reproaches."  He  had  "  been  dying  many 
years,"  and  at  last  departed  in  an  evil  time,  leaving  his  friends 
and  the  Church  of  God  in  great  and  general  affliction.  Yet 
he  died  not  till  God,  having  humbled  him  and  proved  him, 
had  "  cleared  his  innocency,  and  restored  him  to  some  meas- 
ure of  usefulness."  "By  the  goodness  of  God,  he  died,  not- 
withstanding all  his  enemies,  in  his  own  house  and  bed,  and 
came  to  his  grave  in  peace,  according  to  his  heart's  desire."* 


*  The  funeral  sermon,  preached  for  the  Rev.  Samuel  Eaton,  is  found  in  the 
works  of  Oliver  Hey  wood,  V,  509. 


61 

He  was  the  author  of  several  works  published  in  vindica- 
tion of  the  divinity  and  atonement  of  Christ,  against  some 
Socinian  adversary.  He  was  also  author,  in  partnership  with 
his  colleague  in  the  ministry,  at  Duckenfield,  of  two  works 
written  to  defend  the  Congregational  church  order  against 
the  claims  of  Presbyterianism.*  It  is  testified  by  a  bitter 
enemy,f  that  he  was  "  held  in  wonderful  esteem"  by  the 
Puritans  in  that  part  of  the  kingdom,  and  that  he  was  "a 
most  pestilent  leading  person"  among  them.  As  an  instance 
of  the  consideration  in  which  he  was  held,  it  is  stated  that  he 
was,  in  his  own  county,  an  assistant  to  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  Parliament  for  the  ejection  of  scandalous,  igno- 
rant and  insufficient  ministers  and  schoolmasters ;  and  this  it 


*  The  published  works  of  Samuel  Eaton,  as  enumerated  by  Wood,  are  the 
following  : 

"A  Defense  of  Sundry  Positions  and  Scriptures,  alledgcd  to  justify  the  Con- 
gregational Way.  London,  1645,  quarto.  It  contains  about  130  pages. 

"  Defense  of  Sundry  Positions  and  Scriptures,  for  the  Congregational  Way 
justified:  The  second  part.  London,  1646.  It  contains  about  46  pages." 
[In  this  and  the  preceding  work,  he  was  assisted  by  his  colleague  at  Ducken- 
field, Timothy  Taylor.  A  copy  of  the  second  is  in  the  library  of  Harvard 
University.] 

"  The  Mystery  of  God  incarnate :  or,  the  Word  made  Flesh,  cleared  up,  &c. 
London,  1650  ;  octavo.  Written  against  John  Knowles,  a  Socinian,  who  had 
answered  our  author  Eaton's  Paper  concerning  the  Godhead  of  Christ. 

"  Vindication,  or  further  Confirmation  of  some  other  Scriptures,  produced 
to  prove  the  Divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  distorted  and  miserably  wrested  and 
abused  by  Mr.  John  Knowles,  &c.  London,  1651 ;  octavo. 

"  The  Doctrine  of  Christ's  Satisfaction,  and  of  the  Reconciliation  of  God's 
part  to  the  Creature.  Printed  with  the  Vindication. 

"  Discourse  Concerning  the  Springing  and  Spreading  of  Error,  and  of  the 
Means  of  Cure,  and  of  Preservation  against  it.  Printed  also  with  the  Vindi- 
cation. 

"  Treatise  of  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  and  Covenant,  showing  that  they  oblige 
not."  [The  date  of  this  publication  is  not  given ;  but  a  reply  to  it  was  pub- 
lished in  1650.] 

"  The  Quakers  Confuted,  &c.  Animadverted  upon  by  that  sometimes  no- 
ted and  leading  Quaker,  called  George  Fox,  in  his  book  entitled,  The  Great 
Mystery  of  the  Great  Whore  unfolded :  And  Anti-  Christ's  Kingdom  revealed 
unto  destruction,  &c.  London,  1659." 

t  Wood,  Athense  Oxon. 


was,  doubtless,  that  made  him  "  pestilent/'  in  the  estimation 
of  the  "  scandalous  and  insufficient." 

The  Rev.  WILLIAM  HOOKE,  was  born  of  a  respectable  fam- 
ily in  the  county  of  Hampshire.  He  was  sent  to  Trinity 
College,  in  Oxford,  in  1616,  where  he  proceeded  to  the  de- 
gree of  master  in  arts  in  1623,  "  at  which  time,"  says  the 
malignant  Wood,  "he  was  esteemed  a  close  student  and  a 
religious  person."  Having  received  orders  in  the  Church  of 
England,  he  was  made  vicar  of  Axmouth,  in  Devonshire, 
where  he  continued  several  years.  The  character  of  his 
sermons,  it  is  said,  as  well  as  his  non-conformity,  made  him 
obnoxious  to  the  powers  which  then  were  in  his  native  coun- 
try. Like  many  others,  he  was  so  hotly  persecuted  that  he 
had  no  choice  but  to  flee.  Accordingly  he  came  to  New 
England,  where,  adds  the  historian  before  named,  he  "  con- 
tinued his  practices  without  control  for  some  time." 

Soon  after  the  settlement  of  Taunton,  in  1637,  we  find 
Mr.  Hooke  the  pastor  of  the  Church  in  that  place.  In  what 
year  he  removed  from  Taunton  to  New  Haven  is  not  ascer- 
tained, nor  indeed  can  we  fix  precisely  the  date  of  his  ordi- 
nation as  teacher  of  this  Church.  Mather  however  informs  us, 
that  "on  the  day  of  his  ordination,  he  humbly  chose  for  his 
text  those  words  in  Judges  vii,  10 :  'Go  thou  with  Phurah 
thy  servant,' — and  as  humbly  raised  his  doctrine,  that  in 
great  services  a  little  help  is  better  than  none,  which  he  gave 
as  the  reason  of  his  own  being  joined  with  so  considerable  a 
Gideon  as  Mr.  Davenport."* 

While  he  resided  here,  one  of  his  correspondents  in  Eng- 
land was  his  wife's  near  kinsman,  Oliver  Cromwell,!  and 
from  that  circumstance,  as  well  as  from  the  family  alli- 
ance, it  may  be  inferred,  that  before  he  came  to  this  country 
he  was  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  that  extraordinary  man. 


•  Magn.  Ill,  214. 

t  Hutchinson,  III,  234  ;^where  "Hooker"  is  obviously  an  error  of  the 
transcriber,  or  of  the  printer,  for  "  Hooke." — Savage's  Winthrop,  I,  252. 


63 

And  when  at  last  his  friend  Cromwell  had  mounted  to  all 
but  absolute  power  over  the  whole  British  empire  ;  when  his 
wife's  brother,  Edward  Whalley,  was  one  of  the  eight  mili- 
tary chiefs,  who  ruled  the  eight  districts  into  which  the  Pro- 
tector had  divided  the  kingdom  of  England ;  when  the  fear 
of  a  Presbyterian  hierarchy  over  the  churches  of  England  had 
been  taken  away,  and  Congregational  principles  seemed  likely 
to  triumph, — it  is  not  strange  that  he  felt  himself  drawn  to- 
ward his  native  country.  The  New  Haven  colony  was  at 
that  time  greatly  depressed,  and  the  prospect  of  its  growth 
was  gloomy.  Why  should  he  remain  here  in  the  woods,  at 
this  outpost  of  civilization,  preaching  to  a  feeble,  disheart- 
ened company  of  exiles,  in  a  little  meeting-house  of  fifty  feet 
square, — with  only  slender  advantages  for  the  education  of 
his  numerous  family,  and  with  little  prospect  of  accomplish- 
ing any  great  result, — when  Old  England  offered  to  talents 
like  his,  and  to  a  man  of  his  principles  and  connections,  so 
wide  a  field  of  action  ?  And  besides,  how  much  might  he 
do  for  New  England,  and  especially  for  his  dear  friends  and 
flock  in  New  Haven,  if  he  were  at  the  seat  of  empire,  and 
at  the  ear  of  him  who  swayed  the  empire  ?  Accordingly  we 
find  that  in  1654,  "  Mr.  Hooke's  wife  was  gone  for  England, 
and  he  knew  not  how  God  would  dispose  of  her ;"  and  in 
1656,  we  find  Mr.  Hooke  himself  removing  to  England.* 
We  find  him,  not  long  after  his  arrival  there,  writing  to  Gov. 
Winthrop,  "  As  touching  myself,  I  am  not  yet  settled,  the 
Protector  having  engaged  me  to  him  not  long  after  my  land- 
ing, who  hitherto  hath  well  provided  for  me.  His  desire  is, 
that  a  Church  may  be  gathered  in  his  family,  to  which  pur- 
pose I  have  had  speech  with  him  several  times ;  but  though 
the  thing  be  most  desirable,  I  foresee  great  difficulties  in  sun- 
dry respects.  I  think  to  proceed  as  far  as  I  may  by  any  rule 
of  God,  and  am  altogether  unwilling  that  this  motion  should 
fall  in  his  heart.  But  my  own  weakness  is  discouragement 
enough,  were  there  nothing  else."f  Cromwell's  desire  to 

*  Town  Records.  t  III,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  I,  181. 


64 

have  a  Congregational  Church  in  his  own  household,  at  the 
royal  palace  of  Whitehall,  was  at  least  so  far  carried  into  ef- 
fect, that  Mr.  Hooke  became  the  Protector's  domestic  chap- 
lain, in  which  office  he  was  associated  with  no  less  a  man 
than  John  Howe.*  He  also  had  conferred  upon  him  the 
mastership  of  "  the  hospital  called  the  Savoy,  in  the  city  of 
Westminster," — a  place  which  in  other  times  had  been,  and 
afterwards  became  again,  the  bishop  of  London's  city  resi- 
dence,— a  place  of  some  note  in  ecclesiastical  history,  as 
having  received  that  synod  of  Congregational  elders  and  del- 
egates which  framed  the  "  Savoy  Confession ;"  and  as  hav- 
ing been  also,  after  the  restoration,  the  scene  of  several  of 
those  conferences  and  debates  between  some  of  the  dignita- 
ries of  the  establishment  and  some  leading  non-conformists, 
by  which  the  court  imposed  upon  the  Puritans  with  hypo- 
critical professions  of  candor,  till  it  grew  strong  enough  to 
throw  off  the  disguise  and  show  its  hatred. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  late  teacher  of  the  Church  in 
New  Haven  might  very  reasonably  feel  that  he  had  found  a 
much  more  important  field  of  usefulness,  than  that  which 
he  had  left  behind.  Here,  indeed,  his  Sabbath  auditory  had 
included  the  great  men  of  the  jurisdiction,  the  honorable 
governor,  the  worshipful  deputy  governor,  the  magistrates, 
the  deputies ;  but  there,  he  preached  to  His  Highness  the 
Lord  Protector  of  the  three  nations,  and  to  one  and  another  of 
the  men  whose  counsels  and  agency  Cromwell  employed  in 
his  most  politic  and  energetic  administration.  Here,  he  had 
preached  with  a  little  array  of  armed  men,  commanded  by 
the  valiant  Captain  Malbon,  guarding  the  humble  sanctuary 
against  the  savages ;  there,  he  had  before  him  those  veteran 
chiefs  whose  energy  had  swept  away  the  king  "  and  all  his 


*  In  the  order  of  procession  at  the  funeral  of  the  Protector,  the  "  chap- 
lains at  Whitehall,  Mr.  White,  Mr.  Sterry,  Mr.  Hooke,  Mr.  Howe,  Mr. 
Lockyer,  Mr.  [Hugh]  Peters/'  had  a  place  assigned  them.  A  few  files  after 
them,  was  the  place  of  the  five  "  Secretaries  of  the  French  and  Latin  tongues, 
one  of  whom  was  "  Mr.  John  Milton." — Burton's  Cromwellian  Diary,  II, 
524. 


65 

peerage,"  and  whose  names  were  words  of  terror.  Here,  he 
felt  that  he  was  but  "  a  little  help"  to  "  so  considerable  a 
Gideon  as  Mr.  Davenport ;"  there,  he  was  himself,  both  by 
station  and  by  his  popular  talents,  one  of  the  most  "con- 
siderable" of  the  ministers  in  the  metropolis  of  Protestant 
Christendom.  But  how  imperfectly  can  we,  in  our  short- 
sightedness, judge  of  the  comparative  importance  of  different 
stations  and  spheres  of  usefulness.  In  less  than  two  years 
after  Mr.  Hooke's  arrival  in  England,  his  great  friend,  the 
Protector,  died ;  and  immediately  the  pillars  of  that  unce- 
mented  fabric  of  empire  tottered.  Within  two  years  more, 
— years  of  anxious  excitement, — Richard  Cromwell  had  re- 
signed the  iron  scepter  which  no  hand  but  his  father's  could 
wield  ;  and  treachery  and  dissimulation,  taking  advantage  of 
dissensions  among  the  true-hearted,  had  restored  the  mon- 
archy, in  the  person  of  the  ever  infamous  King  Charles  II. 
Then  came  that  age  of  England's  greatest  degeneracy,  when 
her  royal  palaces  rang  with  the  mirth  of  pimps  and  courte- 
zans, while  the  graves  of  heroes,  sages  and  saints,  whose 
memory  she  ought  to  have  treasured,  were  dishonored  and 
violated  by  authority.  Then  came  again  the  era  of  Sabbath 
sports,  and  "  healths  nine  fathoms  deep,"  and  fox-hunting 
clergymen,  while  godliness  was  counted  treason,  and  the 
Baxters  and  Flavels,  the  Owens  and  the  Howes,  were  marks 
of  obloquy  and  vengeance.  Then,  to  be  teacher  of  a  hum- 
ble Church  in  New  England,  was  a  better  place  for  useful- 
ness and  happiness,  than  to  be  the  non-conforming  master  of 
the  Savoy,  ejected  and  silenced.  Then  the  late  chaplain  to 
Oliver,  whose  name,  even  after  his  bones  had  been  dug  up, 
and  hanged,  and  buried  again  under  the  gallows,  made  the 
cavaliers  turn  pale  with  hate  and  terror, — the  brother  of  the 
outlawed  and  hunted  regicide,  Whalley, — could  find  in  Eng- 
land little  peace,  and  little  opportunity  of  public  usefulness. 
He  not  only  suffered  ejection  from  his  place,  and  silencing, 
but  other  forms  of  persecution,  being  "  sometimes  brought 
into  trouble"  for  worshiping  his  God  according  to  his  own 
convictions. 

9 


66 

Mr.  Hooke  was  the  author  of  several  printed  works,*  only 
one  of  which  is  known  to  be  in  existence  in  this  country. 
It  is  a  sermon,  preached  at  Taunton  in  1640,  on  a  day  of 
public  humiliation  appointed  by  the  Churches  in  behalf  of 
their  native  country,  over  which  the  clouds  were  then  hang- 
ing which  soon  after  broke  in  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war. 
The  title  of  the  sermon  is  "  New  England's  Tears  for  Old 
England's  Fears ;"  and  the  sermon  itself  is,  in  matter  and 
style,  quite  unlike  the  ordinary  preaching  of  that  day.  For 
matter,  while  a  strain  of  evangelical  sentiment  runs  through 
it,  it  is  chiefly  occupied  with  a  lively  description  of  the  hor- 
rors of  war,  and  especially  of  civil  war,  and  with  a  statement 
of  the  reasons  which  ought  to  constrain  the  men  of  New 
England  to  sympathize  with  all  the  distresses  of  their  mother 
country.  For  the  style,  while  it  has  some  touches  of  antique 
phraseology,  it  is  far  more  ornamented,  polished  and  rhetori- 
cal, than  the  style  of  any  other  New  England  preacher  of 
that  day. 

That  you  may  have  a  specimen  of  the  matter  and  style  of 
his  preaching,  I  introduce  here  some  extracts  from  the  ser- 
mon, as  it  lies  before  me.f 

*  The  works  of  Mr.  Hooke,  as  set  down  by  Wood,  are— 

"  JVew  England's  Tears  for  Old  England's  Fears, — Fast-Sermon.  Printed 
1640,  41,  in  qu. 

Several  Sermons,  as  (1)  Sermon  on  Job  2,  12.— Printed  1641,  in  qu.  (2) 
Sermon  in  New  England  in  behalf  of  Old  England,  &c.,  printed  1645,  in  qu. 
and  others. 

"  The  Privileges  of  the  Saints  on  Earth  beyond  those  in  Heaven,  &c.  Lond. 
1673,  in  oct. 

"  A  Discourse  of  the  Gospel-Day — printed  with  the  former  book. 

"  He  had  a  hand  also  in  a  Catechism  published  under  the  name  of  Joh. 
Davenport,  and  hath  written  other  things  which  I  have  not  yet  seen." 

To  this  catalogue  may  be  added  from  Calamy,  The  Slaughter  of  the  Wit- 
nesses,— and  A  Sermon  in  the  Supplement  to  the  Morning  Exercises. 

t  The  full  title  of  the  pamphlet  is,  "  New  England's  Teares  for  Old  Eng- 
land's Feares.  Preached  in  a  Sermon  on  July  23,  1640,  being  a  day  of  Pub- 
lique  Humiliation,  appointed  by  the  Churches  in  behalf  of  onr  native  Coun- 
trey  in  time  of  feared  dangers.  By  William  Hooke,  Minister  of  God's 
Word ;  sometimes  of  Axmouth  in  Devonshire,  now  of  Taunton  in  New 
England.  Sent  over  to  a  worthy  member  of  the  honorable  House  of  Com- 
mons, who  desires  it  may  be  for  publike  good.  London,  Printed  by  E.  G.  for 


67 

The  text  is  Job  ii,  13.  "  So  they  sat  down  with  him 
upon  the  ground,  seven  days  and  seven  nights,  and  none 
spake  a  word  to  him,  for  they  saw  that  his  grief  was  very 
great."  After  a  brief  opening  of  the  text,  the  proposition  is 
announced,  "  that  it  is  the  part  of  true  friends  and  brethren 
to  sympathize  and  fellow-feel  with  their  brethren  and  friends 
when  the  hand  of  God  is  upon  them.  The  proposition,  or 
doctrine,  having  been  "  proved,"  according  to  the  fashion  of 
the  day,  by  an  induction  of  instances  from  the  Scriptures, 
and  illustrated  by  "reasons"  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  we 
come  to  the  "  use"  or  application,  which  occupies  the  greater 
part  of  the  discourse.  And  here  the  preacher  says,  "  Before 
I  come  to  the  main  use  which  I  aim  at,  I  will  speak  a  few 
words,  by  way  of  information,  to  show  how  far  they  are 
from  being  friends  or  brethren,  who  are  ready  to  rejoice  at 
the  afflictions  and  miseries  of  others.  A  right  Edomitish 
quality ;  for  Edom  rejoiced  over  the  children  of  Judah  in 
the  day  of  their  destruction."  "  And  it  is  commonly  ob- 
served, that  men  and  women  who  have  turned  witches,  and 
been  in  league  with  the  devil  thereby  to  do  mischief,  are 
never  given  over  so  to  do,  till  they  begin  to  have  an  evil  eye 
which  grieveth  at  the  prosperity  and  rejoiceth  at  the  misery 
of  others.  Hence  witchcraft  is  described  by  an  evil  eye."* 
"Nay  it  is  the  property  of  the  Devil  to  be  thus  affected, 
Man's  prosperity  is  his  pain,  and  man's  adversity  his  rejoic- 
in  g,  as  we  see  in  Job  ;  neither  is  there  scarce  any  thing  that 
doth  more  import  the  seed  of  the  Serpent  in  a  man  than  this 


John  Rothwell  and  Henry  Overton,  and  are  to  be  sould  at  the  Sunne  in  Paul's 
Church-yard,  and  in  Popes-head  Alley.  1641."  The  copy  which  I  have 
had  the  privilege  of  consulting,  belongs  to  the  Library  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, and  is  the  only  copy  known  to  exist  in  this  country. 

*  Nescio  quis  tcneros  oculus  mihifascinat  agnos. 

To  this  classical  citation  with  which  the  author  of  the  Sermon  decorates 
his  margin,  I  may  add  that  the  trials  of"  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Godman,"  as  detailed 
in  the  town  and  colony  records,  contain  evidence  equally  conclusive  with 
the  reasoning  above,  to  show  that  Mr.  Hooke  was  not  so  far  superior  to  his 
age  as  not  to  believe  in  actual  witchcraft.  Cudworth  would  never  have  sus- 
pected him,  on  that  ground,  "  of  having  some  hankering  towards  atheism." 


68 

same  <Li^c«££jcax/«,  rejoicing  in  the  evil  and  misery  of  an- 
other."— "And  though  I  am  not  able  to  charge  any  of  you 
with  this  cursed  affection,  yet  I  do  wish  you  to  look  into 
your  own  hearts ;  for  this  I  am  sure,  here  are  strong  tempta- 
tions sometimes  leading  towards  it  in  this  land,  which,  when 
they  meet  with  a  heart  void  of  grace,  must  needs  stir  up  the 
disposition  in  it." 

The  preacher  then  proceeds  to  the  "  use  which  he  princi- 
pally intends,"  which  is  to  exhort  his  hearers  to  an  affection- 
ate sympathy  with  their  countrymen  in  their  native  land. 
He  reminds  them,  that  there  is  no  occasion  for  sorrow  on 
their  own  account.  He  beseeches  them,  "  Let  us  lay  aside 
the  thoughts  of  all  our  comforts  this  day,  and  let  us  fasten 
our  eyes  upon  the  calamities  of  our  brethren  in  Old  England, 
calamities  at  least  imminent,  calamities  dropping,  swords 
that  have  hung  a  long  time  over  their  heads  by  a  twine 
thread,  judgments  long  since  threatened  as  foreseen  by  many 
of  God's  messengers  in  their  causes,  though  not  foretold  by 
a  spirit  prophetically  guided,  heavy  judgments  in  all  proba- 
bility, when  they  fall,  if  they  are  not  fallen  already."  Then 
follows  a  vivid  portraiture  of  war,  and  especially  of  the  ag- 
gravated atrocities  of  civil  war,  which  was  the  heavy  judg- 
ment then  coming  down  upon  England.  After  which  he 
proceeds  in  his  exhortation. 

"  That  which  we  are  now  called  to  is  brotherly  compassion, 
and  to  do  the  part  of  Job's  friends  in  my  text,  to  sit  aston- 
ished, as  at  the  crying  sins,  so  at  the  feared  sorrows  of  our 
countrymen  ;  for  in  all  probability  their  grief  is  very  great. 
To  this  end  you  may  think  awhile  of  these  particulars. 

"  First,  of  our  civil  relations  to  that  land,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants therein.  There  is  no  land  that  claims  our  name  but 
England ;  we  are  distinguished  from  all  the  nations  of  the 
world  by  the  name  of  English."  "Did  we  not  there  draw 
in  our  first  breath  ?  Did  not  the  sun  first  shine  there  upon 
our  heads  ?  Did  not  that  land  first  bear  us,  even  that  pleas- 
ant island,  but  for  sin  I  would  say,  that  garden  of  the  Lord, 
that  paradise. 


69 

"Withal,  let  us  think  upon  our  natural  relations  to  many 
in  that  land.  Some  of  you,  I  know,  have  fathers  and  moth- 
ers there,  some  of  you  have  brethren  and  sisters,  others  of  you 
have  brethren  and  kinsfolk.  All  these,  sitting  in  grief  and 
sorrow,  challenge  our  sympathies,  and  it  is  a  fearful  sin  to  be 
void  of  natural  affection.  [Rom.  i,  31.]" 

"  But  what  is  more,  let  us  remember  how,  for  many  of  us, 
we  stand  in  a  spiritual  relation  to  many,  yea,  very  many  in 
that  land.  The  same  thread  of  grace  is  spun  through  the 
hearts  of  all  the  godly  under  heaven.  Such  a  one  there  is 
thy  spiritual  father ;  he  begot  thee  in  Christ  Jesus  through 
the  Gospel  ;  and  there  thou  hast  spiritual  brethren  and  sis- 
ters and  mothers.  [Matth.  xii,  50.]  O,  there  is  many  a  sweet, 
loving,  humble,  heavenly  soul  in  that  land,  in  whose  bosom 
Christ  breathes  by  his  blessed  Spirit  every  day,  and  such  as 
I  hope  we  shall  ever  love  at  the  remotest  distance,  were  it 
from  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the  other.  Why,  they  are  bone 
of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh  in  the  church,  nearer  by 
far  than  friends  and  kindred ;  Oh,  let  their  sorrows  be  our 
sorrows,  and  their  miseries  ours. 

"  Besides  these  relations,  civil,  natural,  and  spiritual,  let 
us  think  upon  the  special  ties  and  engagements  that  many 
there  have  upon  us.  Among  your  friends  there,  whether 
natural  or  spiritual,  there  are  no  doubt  some  whom  you  prize 
above  the  rest." — "  Alas !  these  now,  perhaps,  are  weeping  in 
their  secret  places  ;  these  are  now  sitting  with  Job  among  the 
ashes.  If  you  could  but  see  the  expressions  of  their  sorrows, 
and  hear  their  present  speeches  and  complaints ;  and  how 
they,  their  wives  and  little  ones,  do  sit  and  lament  together, — 
it  may  be,  some  of  them  in  expectation  of  daily  death,  and 
how  they  fast  and  pray  and  afflict  their  souls,  or  how,  per- 
adventure,  they  wish  themselves  at  this  very  instant  with 
us ;  O  you  would  weep  and  cry,  and  melt  away  into  tears 
of  sorrow. 

"  To  this,  add  the  consideration  of  the  many  mercies, 
heaps  of  rich  and  precious  mercies,  twenty,  yea,  thirty  and 
forty  years'  mercies,  and  to  some  more,  which  we  have 
there  received ;  especially  soul-mercies.  There  the  light  of 


70 

the  glorious  Gospel  of  Christ  Jesus  first  shined  forth  unto 
thee ;  there  thou  first  heardst  his  pleasant  voice ;  there  did 
his  good  Spirit  first  breathe  upon  thine  heart ;  there  didst 
thou  first  believe  and  repent  and  amend  thy  lewd  ways. 
And  never  was  there  a  land,  I  think,  since  Christ  and  his 
Apostles  left  the  world,  so  richly  blest  in  converts,  or  that  ever 
brought  forth,  such  and  so  many  worthies  into  the  world. 
Yet  there  now  (alas!  where  sooner,  when  sin  aboundeth?) 
doth  judgment  begin  to  reign,  as  we  may  greatly  fear. 

"  Or  is  it  not  meet  that  we  should  bear  a  part  with  them 
in  their  sorrows,  who  have  borne  a  part  with  them  in  their 
sins  ?  Have  we  conferred  so  many  sins  as  we  have  done, 
to  speed  on  their  confusion,  and  shall  we  bestow  no  sorrow 
on  them  ?  Shall  we  not  help  to  quench  the  fire  with  our 
tears,  that  we  have  kindled  with  our  sins  ?" 

"  Again ;  let  us  suppose  that  things  were  even  now  turned 
end  for  end,  and  that  we  were  this  day  in  distress,  and  those 
our  brethren  in  peace  ;  I  am  confident  that  they  would  con- 
dole with  us,  yea,  and  pour  out  many  a  prayer  for  us :  for 
they  did  as  much,  I  know,  when  this  land  lay  sometime  un- 
der dearth,  another  time  when  the  Indians  rebelled,  a  third 
when  the  monstrous  opinions  prevailed.  And  how  have 
they  always  listened  after  our  welfare,  ebbing  and  flowing 
in  their  affections  with  us  ?  How  do  they  (I  mean  all  this 
while,  multitudes  of  well  affected  persons  there)  talk  of  New 
England  with  delight !  How  much  nearer  heaven,  do  some 
of  their  charities  account  this  land  than  any  other  place  they 
hear  of  in  the  world !  Such  is  their  good  opinion  of  us." — 
"  And  when  sometimes  a  New  England  man  returns  thither, 
how  is  he  looked  upon,  looked  after,  received,  entertained, 
the  ground  he  walks  uponjbeloved  for  his  sake,  and  the  house 
held  the  better  where  he  is !  how  are  his  words  listened  to, 
laid  up,  and  related  frequently  when  he  is  gone !  neither  is 
any  love  or  kindness  held  too  much  for  such  a  man. 

"  Neither  let  this  be  forgotten,  that  of  all  the  Christian 
people  this  day  in  the  world,  we  in  this  land  enjoy  the  great- 
est measure  of  peace  and  tranquillity.  We  have  beaten  our 
swords  into  ploughshares  and  our  spears  into  pruning  hooks, 


71 

when  others  have  beaten  their  pruning  hooks  into  spears  and 
their  ploughshares  into  swords.  And  now,  as  Moses  said  to 
the  Reubenites  and  the  Gadites,  '  Shall  your  brethren  go  to 
war,  and  shall  ye  sit  still  ?' — so,  shall  our  brethren  go  to  war, 
and  we  sit  still  and  not  so  much  as  grieve  with  them  ?  Shall 
they  be  wounded  with  the  sword  and  spear,  and  not  we  be 
pierced  so  much  as  with  brotherly  sorrow  ?" 

"  What  shall  I  say  ?  If  there  should  be  any  one  heart 
here,  digged  out  of  a  Marpesian  rock,  let  such  an  one  remem- 
ber, lastly,  that  in  the  peace  of  that  land,  we  shall  have  peace, 
and  therefore  in  the  misery  of  that  land  we  shall  never  be 
happy.  You  know  that  God  hath  hitherto  made  that  land 
a  blessing  to  this.  If  Christ  hath  a  vine  here,  that  land  hath 
as  yet  been  the  elm  that  hath  sustained  it.  Thence  hath 
the  Lord  thus  stocked  this  American  part  with  such  wor- 
thies ;  there  were  they  bred  and  nursed ;  thence,  hitherto, 
have  been  our  yearly  supplies  of  men,  and  of  many  a  useful 
commodity.  If  then  they  suffer,  we  may  easily  smart ;  if 
they  sink,  we  are  not  likely  to  rise.  And  this  at  least  may 
be  a  persuasive  to  a  sordid  mind,  that  will  not  be  wrought 
upon  by  more  ingenuous  arguments. 

"  The  merciful  God  stir  up  all  our  affections,  and  give  us 
that  godly  sympathy,  which  that  land  deserveth  at  our  hands, 
and  teach  us  to  express  it  upon  all  occasions  of  ill  tidings 
coming  to  our  ears  from  thence.  Yea,  let  us  sit,  at  this  time, 
like  old  Eli  upon  the  wayside,  watching  as  he  did,  for  the 
ark  of  the  Lord,  with  a  trembling  hand  and  heart.  And  let 
us  be  every  day  confessing  of  our  Old  England's  sins,  of  its 
high  pride,  idolatry,  superstition,  blasphemies,  blood,  cruel- 
ties, atheisms.  And  let  us  never  go  to  our  secrets,  without 
our  censers  in  our  hands  for  Old  England,  dear  England  still 
in  divers  respects,  left  indeed  by  us  in  our  persons,  but  never 
yet  forsaken  in  our  affections.  The  good  God  of  heaven 
have  mercy  upon  it,  and  upon  all  his  dear  people  and  ser- 
vants in  it,  for  Christ's  sake.  Amen." 

Such  is  a  specimen  of  our  first  teacher's  style  of  preaching. 
I  offer  no  comments  on  it.  Only  let  me  ask  whether  those 
who  are  most  accustomed  to  depreciate  the  intellectual  and 


72 

moral  character  of  our  ancestors,  must  not  own  that  such  a 
specimen  refutes  their  prejudices  ? 

Several  other  sermons  of  Mr.  Hooke's  appear  to  have  been 
published,  some  of  them  at  least  while  he  was  here  in  New 
England.  Another  work  of  his,  printed  in  his  old  age,  was 
entitled  "  The  privileges  of  the  saints  on  earth,  beyond  those 
in  heaven" — a  title  which,  though  the  book  should  be  lost, 
deserves  to  be  kept  in  remembrance.  What  sort  of  a  man 
must  he  have  been,  who  in  his  old  age,  disappointed,  afflicted, 
persecuted,  could  write  a  book  to  show  the  privileges  of  the 
saints  on  earth  beyond  those  in  heaven — the  privilege  of 
laboring  for  the  Redeemer,  and  the  privilege  of  bearing  the 
cross,  and  enduring  reproach  and  sorrow  for  him.  Methinks 
prejudice  itself  will  own,  that  such  a  man  must  have  had 
something  of  the  same  spirit  with  that  apostle  who  said,  "I 
am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  for  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  but  to 
die  is  gain." 

It  may  be  stated  here,  that  Mr.  Hooke's  home  lot  in  this 
town,  on  which  he  lived,  was  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Col- 
lege and  Chapel  streets,  and  was  of  the  same  extent  with  the 
other  original  town  lots.  That  lot,  with  the  house  and  ac- 
commodations upon  it,  he  gave  to  this  Church,  on  the  express 
condition  that  it  should  never  be  alienated,  "  that  it  might  be 
a  standing  maintenance  either  towards  a  teaching  officer, 
schoolmaster,  or  the  benefit  of  the  poor  in  fellowship."  The 
lot,  however,  was  alienated  in  1721,  by  a  perpetual  lease,  to 
the  trustees  of  what  is  now  Yale  College,  for  the  sum  of  forty 
three  pounds.  This  may  have  been  legally  right,  but  by  the 
lease,  the  intention  of  the  donor  was  as  really  defeated  as  it 
could  have  been  by  a  direct  sale.  In  a  letter  to  the  Church, 
confirming  his  gift  and  defining  the  terms  of  the  donation, 
written  after  fifteen  years'  absence  from  them,  he  says : 
"Brethren,  I  daily  have  you  in  remembrance  before  the 
Lord,  as  retaining  my  old  brotherly  affection  towards  you, 
desiring  the  return  of.  your  prayers  and  brotherly  love  for 
him  in  whose  heart  you  have  a  great  interest.  The  Father 
of  mercy  be  with  you  all,  dwell  in  the  midst  of  you,  fill  you 
with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  and  bring  you  to  his 


73 

everlasting  kingdom  in  glory  through  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom 
I  rest." 

This  good  man  died  on  the  21st  of  March,  1678,  aged 
seventy  seven,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  Bunhill 
fields,  in  London,  which  is  a  sort  of  Westminster  Abbey  of 
the  Puritans  and  Dissenters. 

From  the  facts  which  have  been  now  exhibited,  it  may  be 
seen  what  sort  of  men  the  fathers  of  New  England  had  for 
ministers,  and  what  zeal  the  fathers  manifested,  to  have  the 
work  of  the  sanctuary  well  attended  to.  It  was  truly  said 
by  one  of  them,  in  his  quaint  way,  that  it  was  "  as  unnatural 
for  a  right  New  England  man  to  live  without  an  able  min- 
istry, as  for  a  smith  to  work  his  iron  without  fire." 

Their  ministers  were  all  educated  men ;  educated  at  the 
universities  of  England  in  all  the  learning  and  science  of  that 
age,  and  especially  in  every  thing  pertaining  to  the  science 
of  theology.  None  of  them  counted  himself  properly  ac- 
quainted with  the  Scriptures,  till  he  could  read  them  famil- 
iarly in  their  original  languages.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing 
for  the  ministers  of  that  age,  in  their  daily  family  devotions, 
to  read  not  only  the  New  Testament  from  the  Greek,  but 
the  Old  Testament  from  its  native  Hebrew.  The  fathers  of 
New  England  did  not  think  so  meanly  of  themselves  as  to 
calculate  on  being  instructed  by  an  uninstructed  ministry. 

Their  ministers  were  such  men  as  they  considered  to  be 
called  of  God,  men  of  approved  faith,  purity  and  piety,  men 
whom  they  could  trust  and  honor.  The  more  I  see  of  the 
piety  of  the  fathers,  and  especially  of  the  piety  of  their  minis- 
ters— the  more  I  analize  their  characters,  and  separating  their 
piety  from  the  quaintness  in  which  it  was  sometimes  attired, 
and  from  that  peculiar  zeal  about  forms  and  institutions  which 
resulted  from  their  circumstances,  see  how  they  realized  con- 
tinually the  grand  arid  simple  objects  of  Christian  faith,  and 
thus  continually  walked  with  God — the  more  am  I  con- 
strained to  honor  them,  and  the  more  do  I  find  myself  in- 
structed, reproved,  stimulated  by  their  example.  The  fathers 
10 


74 

of  these  churches  dreaded  above  all  outward  curses  the  curse 
of  a  worldly,  unholy  ministry. 

Their  ministers  were  expected  to  do  the  work  of  the  sanc- 
tuary well.  They  did  not  suppose  that  a  little  unstudied 
declamation,  or  a  little  prosy  traditional  metaphysics,  uttered 
from  one  Lord's  day  to  another,  "  thought  echoing  to  thought, 
and  sermon  to  sermon,"  in  perpetual  monotony,  was  enough 
to  feed  the  flock  of  God.  They  did  not  imagine  that  men 
whose  spirits  were  continually  jaded  and  exhausted  by  excess 
of  labor,  were  the  most  likely  to  build  up  and  adorn  God's  liv- 
ing temple.  They  intended  that  their  ministers  should  not 
only  be  well  qualified  before  entering  the  ministry,  but  should 
also,  while  in  the  ministry,  have  no  excuse  in  the  burthen- 
someness  of  their  duties  for  not  maintaining  by  various  and 
continued  study,  that  elastic  vigor  of  mind  which  is  always 
essential  to  successful  effort.  Their  plan  was  to  place,  in 
every  congregation,  two  preachers,  well  qualified,  who,  divi- 
ding between  them  the  work  of  the  ministry,  should  hold  up 
each  other's  hands,  and  stimulate  each  other  to  constant  per- 
sonal and  mutual  improvement.  To  the  enlarged  views 
with  which  they  acted,  we  of  this  generation  are  greatly  in- 
debted. The  pulpit  has  not  yet  lost  in  New  England,  that 
eminence  of  intellectual  and  moral  power  which  it  gained 
when  New  England  was  planted.  The  original  plan  of  an 
associate  ministry  in  every  church,  has  indeed  been  given  up ; 
but  the  benefits  of  that  plan  are  still  secured  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, by  the  multiplication  and  communion  of  churches. 
Ministers  still  assist  each  other's  labors,  bear  each  other's 
burthens,  guide  each  other's  studies,  and  aid  and  stimulate 
each  other's  progress.  If  this  is  a  benefit ;  if  it  has  always 
been  an  honor  and  a  blessing  to  the  people  of  Connecticut, 
that  from  the  beginning  they  have  ever  had  "  a  scholar  to 
their  minister  in  every  town  or  village  ;"*  for  this  we  are 
indebted  to  our  ancestors.  Let  us  give  to  posterity  no  occa- 
sion to  reproach  us  wjth  having  impaired,  in  this  respect, 
their  just  inheritance. 

*  Narrative  of  the  King's  Commissioners,  in  1666,  Hutch.  Ill,  413. 


DISCOURSE   V. 

JOHN    DAVENPORT    IN    ENGLAND,    IN    HOLLAND,    AND    IN    THE 
NEW    ENGLAND    SYNOD    OF     1637. 

JOHN  v,  35. — He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light. 

I  HAVE  reserved  to  this  occasion  the  work  of  giving  some 
account  of  the  life  and  character  of  the  Rev.  John  Davenport, 
the  first  pastor  of  this  Church,  and  one  of  the  two  chief  men 
in  the  company  that  founded  the  colony  of  New  Haven. 

He  was  born  in  the  ancient  city  of  Coventry,  in  the  year 
1597.  Of  his  father  we  know  only  that  he  was  at  one  time 
mayor  of  the  city  in  which  he  resided,  and  that  he  was 
descended  from  a  highly  respectable  family  of  that  name  in 
the  county  of  Chester.  Of  his  mother  it  is  recorded  that  she 
was  a  pious  woman,  and  that  "  having  lived  just  long  enough 
to  devote  him.  as  Hannah  did  her  Samuel,  to  the  service  of 
the  sanctuary,  left  him  under  the  more  immediate  care  of 
heaven,  to  fit  him  for  that  service."  That  mother's  dying 
prayer  received  an  early  answer.  Before  the  son  had  attained 
to  fourteen  years  of  age,  "  the  grace  of  God  had  sanctified 
hirn  with  good  principles ;"  and  he  had  already  entered  upon 
that  conscientious  and  devout  manner  of  living  by  which  he 
was  ever  afterwards  distinguished.* 

At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  was  admitted  into  one  of  the 
colleges  of  the  university  of  Oxford,!  where  he  pursued  his 
studies  not  more  than  five  years.  A  volume  of  his  manu- 
script notes  and  sketches  of  sermons,  bearing  the  date  of 
1615,J  appears  to  indicate  in  some  places,  that  sometime  in 

*  Magnalia,  III,  52. 

t  Wood  says  that  he  was  sent  in  1613  to  Mcrton  College,  and  was  trans- 
ferred two  years  afterwards  to  Magdalen  Hall.  Mather,  who  was  more  likely 
to  know,  having  Davenport's  papers  before  him,  says  he  was  admitted  into 
Brazen-nose  College,  when  "  he  had  seen  two  sevens  of  years  in  this  evil 
world,"  which  fixes  the  date  in  1611. 

t  Preserved  in  the  Library  of  Yale  College. 


76 

the  course  of  that  year,  he  was  officiating  as  domestic  chap- 
lain at  Hilton  castle,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Durham.  At 
the  age  of  nineteen,  he  entered  upon  public  life  as  a  preacher 
in  the  great  metropolis.  He  was  at  first  an  assistant  to  an- 
other minister ;  but  afterwards  he  was  vicar  of  St.  Stephen's 
Church  in  Coleman  street.  He  was  soon  distinguished  and 
honored,  not  only  for  his  accomplishments  as  a  minister,  but 
by  his  courageous  devotedness  to  his  people  in  a  time  of  pes- 
tilence, when  others  either  retreated  from  their  posts  or  de- 
clined the  dangerous  duty  of  visiting  the  sick  and  afflicted. 

He  had  left  the  university  without  taking  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts ;  but  in  1625*  he  returned  to  Oxford  for  a 
time,  and  having  gone  through  the  necessary  exercises,  he 
received  that  degree  and  the  degree  of  Bachelor  in  Divinity 
together.  He  was  by  no  means  one  of  those  whose  studies 
are  finished  when  they  leave  the  walls  of  the  university. 
He  was  not  the  less  a  hard  student  for  being  a  laborious  city 
preacher.  "His  custom  was  to  sit  up  very  late  at  his  lucu- 
brations ;"  but  though  "  he  found  no  sensible  damage  him- 
self from  the  practice,  "his  counsel  was,  that  other  students 
would  not  follow  his  example."  His  sermons  were  more 
elaborate,  and  written  out  more  fully,  than  was  generally  cus- 
tomary among  the  preachers  of  that  day ;  yet  his  sermons 
were  not  his  only  studies,  "  but  the  effects  of  his  industry 
were  seen  by  all  men  in  his  approving  himself,  on  all  occa- 
sions, an  universal  scholar,  "f 

One  of  the  members  of  his  congregation  in  Coleman 
street,  was  Theophilus  Eaton,  with  whom,  though  about 
six  years  older  than  himself,  he  had  been  intimate  in  child- 
hood, the  father  of  Eaton  being  then  one  of  the  ministers  of 
Coventry.  It  had  been  the  hope  of  Eaton's  friends  to  see 
him  in  the  ministry ;  but  the  providence  that  controls  all 
things  had  other  designs  concerning  him  ;  and  therefore  the 
pious  ambition  of  his  friends  was  defeated.  Being  permitted 
to  follow  his  own  preferences,  he  became  a  merchant ;  and 

*  Wood,     t  Mather. 


in  that  employment  he  was  eminent  and  successful.  It  may 
be  presumed  that  Eaton's  friendship  for  Davenport  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  bringing  the  young  preacher  to  London, 
and  fixing  him  there.  Thenceforward  the  two  lived  in  un- 
interrupted intimacy  ;  they  were  rarely  separated  from  each 
other  ;  their  history  runs  in  one  channel ;  their  names  are  in- 
separably associated. 

What  a  contrast  to  this  beautiful  picture  of  friendship  and 
of  a  common  destiny,  do  we  find  in  the  life  of  another  of 
their  Coventry  schoolmates.  There  was  only  about  a  year's 
difference  in  age  between  John  Davenport  and  his  cousin 
Christopher;  and  long  after  Eaton  had  left  Coventry  and 
gone  to  his  apprenticeship  in  London,  the  two  cousins  went 
to  the  university  together,  and  were  in  the  same  college 
there.*  But  how  great  was  the  difference  and  distance  be- 
tween them  afterwards.  The  one  became  a  most  thorough 
and  fearless  Puritan,  the  founder  of  a  Puritan  Church  and 
colony  in  the  wilderness  of  the  new  world.  The  other, 
with  much  of  the  same  native  genius  and  temper,  after  some 
two  years'  study  in  Oxford,  became  a  papist,  went  to  the 
continent,  and  connected  himself  with  the  Franciscan  order 
of  friars,  pursued  his  studies  at  Doway,  and  in  one  of  the 
universities  of  Spain,  and  at  length  came  back  to  his  native 
country,  a  Romish  missionary,  eminently  learned  and  ac- 
complished, under  the  assumed  name  of  Franciscus  a  Sancta 
Clara.  In  this  capacity,  he  became  one  of  the  chaplains  to 
dueen  Henrietta  Maria,  the  wife  of  Charles  I.  He  was  an 
active,  leading  spirit  in  those  stormy  times,  doing  great  ser- 
vice for  the  popish  cause  in  England,  raising  money  among  the 
English  papists  for  all  sorts  of  purposes ;  writing  books,  gain- 
ing proselytes,  and  intriguing  in  all  quarters,  (the  archbishop 
himself  not  excepted,)  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between 
the  National  Church  of  England,  and  the  Church  of  Rome. 
During  the  interval  between  the  downfall  of  the  monarchy 


*  I  follow  here,  the  testimony  of  Wood,  which  on  this  point  is  not  neces- 
sarily contradicted  by  that  of  Mather. 


78 

and  the  return  of  the  Stuarts,  he  lived  in  obscurity,  but  not 
therefore  inactively.  At  the  restoration,  he  appeared  again, 
and  his  faded  honors  revived  and  blossomed.  King  Charles 
II,  having  married  a  popish  princess  of  Portugal,  Franciscus 
a  Sancta  Clara  became  again  chaplain  to  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land. He  died  in  1680,  at  the  royal  palace  of  Somerset 
House,  and  was  buried  in  the  Church  of  the  Savoy  Hospital, 
where  William  Hooke,  the  chaplain  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  had 
preached  a  few  years  before. 

That  Mr.  Davenport,  when  vicar  of  St.  Stephen's  in  Cole- 
man  street,  had  notwithstanding  his  youth,  no  inferior  position 
among  the  men  of  the  Puritan  party  in  the  Church  of  England, 
appears  from  various  sources.  "  The  ablest  men  about  Lon- 
don," says  Mather,  "  were  his  nearest  friends."  Dr.  Preston, 
the  master  of  Emmanuel  College  in  Cambridge,  a  man  who 
had  declined  the  bishopric  of  Gloucester,  and  of  whom  it  was 
understood,  that  had  he  been  dishonest  enough  to  be  the  ally 
or  the  tool  of  Buckingham,  he  might  have  been  chancellor  of 
England, — a  man  who  by  his  eloquence  as  a  preacher,  his 
learning  and  skill  in  controversy,  and  his  various  talents  for 
business,  was,  more  than  any  other  of  his  time,  the  head  of 
the  Puritans, — was  numbered  among  the  intimate  friends  of 
the  young  preacher  at  St.  Stephen's.  When  Dr.  Preston 
died,  he  left  his  posthumous  works  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Daven- 
port. 

In  the  year  1627,  an  association  was  formed  in  London, 
with  the  design  of  providing  for  all  parts  of  England  an  able 
and  evangelical  ministry,  in  connection  with  the  established 
Church.  Some  explanation  is  necessary  to  make  the  plan  of 
their  proceedings  intelligible  to  those  who  are  not  familiar 
with  the  ecclesiastical  institutions  of  England.  By  an  ancient 
arrangement  in  that  country,  the  tenth  part  of  all  the  products 
of  the  soil  is  devoted  to  the  Church, — the  tithes  of  each  par- 
ish belonging  ordinarily  to  the  minister  of  the  parish.  Du- 
ring the  ages  of  popery;  however,  the  tithes  of  many  parishes 
became  appropriated  to  different  monasteries, — the  monastery 
in  such  cases  providing  a  priest  for  the  parish,  who  acting  in 


79 

their  behalf,  was  called  the  vicar ;  while  the  tithes  of  the 
parish,  above  what  was  necessary  to  pay  the  vicar,  went  to 
augment  the  revenues  of  the  monastery.  When  Henry  VIII, 
dissolved  the  monasteries,  and  distributed  their  wealth  among 
his  friends  and  courtiers,  these  appropriated  tithes,  as  they 
were  called,  became  the  property  of  laymen,  and  were 
thenceforward  called  "  \ayimpropriations" — the  layman  who 
owed  the  tithes  of  the  parish,  being  obliged  to  pay  some 
part  of  the  tithes  for  the  support  of  the  parish  clergyman,  and 
enjoying,  as  his  private  property,  all  that  surplus  which  form- 
erly went  to  the  monastery.  In  thousands  of  the  parishes  of 
England,  the  tithes  are  thus  impropriated.  The  scheme  in 
which  Davenport  and  others  were  concerned,  proposed  to  re- 
cover these  revenues,  or  at  least  some  part  of  them,  for  the 
use  of  the  Church.  They  undertook  to  raise,  by  voluntary 
contribution,  a  fund  which  should  be  invested  in  the  pur- 
chase of  "  lay  impropriations,"  and  the  revenues  of  which 
should  be  employed  in  supporting  lecturers, — or  stated  preach- 
ers,— in  all  those  parts  of  the  kingdom  where  there  was 
most  need  of  such  a  ministry.  Mr.  Davenport  was  one 
of  the  twelve  trustees  to  whom  the  entire  management  of  the 
undertaking  was  committed.  The  plan  was  regarded  by  the 
public  with  great  favor ;  and  in  a  very  short  time  thirteen 
impropriations  had  been  purchased  at  an  expense  of  five  or 
six  thousand  pounds.  But  to  Laud,  then  bishop  of  London, 
such  a  movement  seemed  very  threatening,  inasmuch  as 
preaching  -tended  continually  to  the  growth  of  Puritanism. 
Here  was  a  sort  of  Home  Missionary  Society — a  develop- 
ment of  the  principle  of  voluntary  association,  which  if  not 
crushed  might  grow  too  strong  for  control.  He  therefore 
represented  to  the  king,  that  these  trustees  were  engaged  in 
a  conspiracy  against  the  Church,  and  caused  them  to  be  pros- 
ecuted in  the  court  of  the  Exchequer,  as  an  unlawful  society. 
The  result  was  a  decision  of  that  court,  that  the  proceedings 
were  unlawful ;  that  the  impropriations  purchased  should  be 
confiscated  ;  and  that  the  trustees  themselves  were  liable  to 
be  fined  in  the  star  chamber.  But  the  unpopularity  of  the 


80 

prosecution  was  so  great,  that  it  was  dropped  at  this  point ; 
and,  the  fund  having  been  confiscated,  the  trustees  escaped 
being  punished  as  criminals  by  fines  which  might  have  strip- 
ped them  of  their  private  property.* 

In  reference  to  this  passage  of  his  life,  Mr.  Davenport,  made 
the  following  record  in  his  great  Bible  : 

"  Feb.  11,  1632.  The  business  of  the  feoffees,  being  to  be 
heard  the  third  time  at  the  Exchequer,  I  prayed  earnestly 
that  God  would  assist  our  counsellors  in  opening  the  case, 
and  be  pleased  to  grant  that  they  might  get  no  advantage 
against  us  to  punish  us  as  evil  doers ;  promising  to  observe 
what  answer  he  gave.  Which  seeing  he  hath  graciously 
done,  and  delivered  me  from  the  thing  I  feared,  I  record  to 
these  ends : 

1.  To  be  more  industrious  in  my  family.  2.  To  check 
my  unthankfulness.  3.  To  quicken  myself  to  thankfulness. 
4.  To  awaken  myself  to  more  watchfulness  for  the  time  to 
come,  in  remembrance  of  his  mercy. 

Which  I  beseech  the  Lord  to  grant ;  upon  whose  faithful- 
ness in  his  covenant,  I  cast  myself  to  be  made  faithful  in  my 
covenant.  JOHN  DAVENPORTE."* 

By  this  time,  or  soon  after,  Mr.  Davenport  seemed  to  have 
become  a  decided  non-conformist.  It  is  related  of  him,  on 
the  authority  of  some  written  testimony  of  his  own — "that 
he  was  first  staggered  in  his  conformity,  and  afterwards  fully 
taken  off,  by  set  conferences  and  debates  which  himself  and 
sundry  other  ministers  obtained  with  Mr.  John  Cotton,  then 
driven  from  Boston  [in  England]  on  account  of  his  non-con- 
formity.''! Nor  did  he  study  one  side  of  the  question  only. 
He  had  conferences  with  Bishop  Laud,  as  well  as  with  the 

*  Neal,  II,  247. 

t  This  is  copied  from  Mather.  The  orthography  of  the  name  as  here  given 
is  correct,  if  we  permit  every  man  to  determine  the  spelling  of  his  own  name. 
Mr.  Davenport,  as  we  call  him.  always  wrote  his  name  John  Davenporte.  I 
have  followed  in  this  work  the  orthography  adopted  by  his  posterity,  which 
was  also  adopted  in  the  records  both  of  the  Church  and  of  the  town  and 
colony. 

t  Preface  to  Power  of  Congregational  Churches. 


81 

non-conformist  Cotton.  The  bishop  having  the  advantage  of 
him  by  such  arguments  as  the  Star  chamber  afforded,  said,  in 
reference  to  these  debates,  "  I  thought  I  had  settled  his 
judgment."  Accordingly  the  prelate  expressed  himself  with 
some  displeasure,  when  he  found,  near  the  close  of  the  year 
1633,  that  Davenport  had  not  only  openly  "declared  his 
judgment  againt  conformity  with  the  Church  of  England," 
but  had  resigned  his  benefice  and  escaped  from  the  warrant 
that  was  out  against  him,  by  fleeing  into  Holland.* 

So  conscientious  was  Mr.  Davenport,  that  even  when  threat- 
ened with  immediate  danger,  he  would  not  retreat  from  his 
post  without  the  free  consent  of  those  to  whom  he  stood  in 
the  pastoral  relation.  "Being  seasonably  and  sufficiently 
advertised"  of  the  impending  "  vengeance"  of  the  arch- 
bishop, "  he  convened  the  principal  persons  under  his  pasto- 
ral charge  at  a  general  vestry,  desiring  them  on  this  occasion 
to  declare  what  they  would  advise ;  for,  acknowledging  the 
right  which  they  had  in  him  as  their  pastor,  he  would  not, 
by  any  danger,  be  driven  from  any  service  which  they  should 
expect  or  demand  at  his  hands."  "  Upon  a  serious  delib- 
eration, they  discharged  his  conscientious  obligations,  by 
agreeing  with  him  that  it  would  be  best  for  him  to  resign." 
Having  resigned,  he  still  found  that  he  could  not  be  safe  till 
he  had  put  the  sea  between  himself  and  the  officers  that 
were  in  pursuit  of  him.f 

In  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  there  had  been  for  many  years 
a  congregation  of  English  Christians,  organized  upon  Pres- 
byterian principles,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Mr.  John  Paget. 
That  Church,  having  heard  of  Mr.  Davenport's  arrival  in  Hol- 
land, immediately  sent  messengers  to  meet  him,  with  the 
invitation  to  be  colleague  with  their  aged  pastor.  Accord- 
ingly he  labored  for  a  season  in  the  English  Church  at  Am- 
sterdam, with  "great  acceptance."  But  a  difference  soon 
arose  between  him  and  Mr.  Paget,  in  respect  to  the  indiscrim- 
inate baptism  of  children  practiced  in  that  congregation.  The 


Wood.  t  Magnalia,  HI,  52. 

11 


82 

practice  there  had  been,  as  it  was  and  is  in  the  Established 
Church  of  England,  to  baptize  the  children  of  all  sorts  of 
parents,  without  any  evidence  or  inquiry  as  to  the  fitness  of 
the  parents  to  enter  into  such  a  covenant.  This  Davenport 
refused  to  do,  which  gave  great  offense  to  Mr.  Paget.  The 
matter  was  in  some  way  brought  before  the  Dutch  classis  or 
presbytery,  to  which  that  English  Church  appears  to  have 
been  subject ;  but  though  the  classis  acknowledged  Mr.  Dav- 
enport's "  eminent  learning  and  singular  piety,"  and  could  not 
refrain  from  "  approving  his  good  .zeal  and  care"  respecting 
the  fitness  of  parents  offering  their  children  for  baptism,  he  had 
already  made  up  his  mind  against  the  power  of  classical  as- 
semblies, as  well  as  against  the  promiscuous  administration  of 
ordinances ;  and  the  result  wa"s,  "  the  matter  could  not  be 
accommodated ;  Mr.  Davenport  could  not  be  allowed,  except 
he  would  promise  to  baptize  the  children  whose  parents  and 
sureties  were,  even  upon  examination,  found  never  so  much 
unchristianized,  ignorant  or  scandalous."  Being  thus  con- 
strained to  desist  from  the  public  exercise  of  his  ministry,  he 
confined  himself  to  a  private  Sabbath  evening  lecture  at  his 
own  lodgings ;  but  that  was  soon  complained  of,  and  his 
lecture  was  given  up.  Several  works  were  published  on  both 
sides  during  the  progress  of  this  controversy,  the  last  of  which, 
being  Mr.  Davenport's  "  Apologetical  Reply,"  was  printed 
at  Rotterdam  in  1636.  Soon  after  this,  having  found  by 
experience  that  a  strict  Presbyterian  hierarchy  is  not  much 
better  than  the  yoke  of  prelacy,  he  returned  to  his  native 
country,  for  the  purpose  of  emigrating  to  America."* 

From  the  first  movement  towards  the  planting  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts colony,  Mr.  Davenport,  though  at  that  time  he  had 
no  idea  of  leaving  England  himself,  had  much  to  do  with 
the  undertaking.  That  colony,  from  its  beginning,  had  oc- 
casion to  regard  him  as  one  of  its  chief  patrons.f  "  And 

*  Magnalia,  III,  53. 

t  He  contributed  £50,  and  his  friend  and  parishioner  Eaton  paid  £100  to- 
wards procuring  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  in  1628.  Hutchinson,  III,  395. 
Eaton  was  one  of  the  original  patentees. 


83 

while  he  was  in  Holland,"  says  Mather,  "  he  received  letters 
of  Mr.  Cotton,  from  the  country  whereto  he  had  been  thus 
a  father,  telling  him  that  the  order  of  the  Churches  and  the 
commonwealth,  was  now  so  settled  in  New  England,  by 
common  consent,  that  it  brought  into  his  mind  the  new 
heaven  and  the  new  earth  wherein  dwells  righteousness." 
Accordingly  he  and  his  friend  Theophilus  Eaton,  became  the 
leaders  of  a  new  expedition  to  New  England,  which  arrived 
at  Boston,  in  the  Hector  and  another  vessel,  on  the  26th  of 
June,  1637.* 

Mr.  Davenport  was  heartily  welcomed  by  the  ministers 
and  Churches  who  were  in  New  England  before  him,  for 
he  arrived  at  a  time  when  the  whole  colony  of  Massachu- 
setts was  shaken  with  a  religious  controversy.  There  are 
certain  opinions  which  always  come  forth,  under  one  form 
or  another,  in  times  of  great  religious  excitement,  to  dishonor 
the  truth  which  they  simulate,  and  to  defeat  the  work  of 
God  by  heating  the  minds  of  men  to  enthusiasm,  and  thus 
leading  them  into  licentiousness  of  conduct.  These  opin- 
ions, essentially  the  same  under  many  modifications,  have 
been  known  in  various  ages  by  various  names,  as  Antinomi- 
anism,  Familism,  and — in  our  day — Perfectionism.  Persons 
falling  into  these  errors  commonly  begin  by  talking  mysti- 
cally and  extravagantly  about  grace,  the  indwelling  of  the 
Spirit,  the  identity  of  believers  with  the  person  of  Christ,  or 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  of  God  ;  as  they  proceed  they  learn  to 
despise  all  ordinances  and  means  of  grace,  they  put  contempt 
upon  the  Bible  as  a  mere  dead  letter,  worth  nothing  in  com- 
parison with  their  inspiration,  they  reject  and  revile  all  civil 
government  and  order ;  and  not  unfrequently  they  end  in 
denying  theoretically  all  the  difference  between  right  and 
wrong  so  far  as  their  conduct  is  concerned,  and  in  rushing  to 
the  shameless  perpetration  of  the  most  loathsome  wickedness. 
This  intellectual  and  spiritual  disease  had  broken  out  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  threatened  to  become  epidemic.  An  artful, 

*  Winthrop,  I,  227.  . 


84 

enthusiastic  and  eloquent  woman,  forgetting,  like  some  wo- 
men of  our  day,  the  modesty  of  her  sex,  had  set  herself  up 
for  a  preacher ;  and  by  the  adroitness  with  which  she  ad- 
dressed herself  to  the  weaknesses  and  prejudices  of  individ- 
uals, and  drew  to  her  side  the  authority  of  some  of  the  most 
honored  names  in  the  colony,  she  seemed  likely  not  only  to 
lead  her  own  blind  followers  to  the  wildest  extravagances, 
but  to  spread  division  through  all  the  Churches.  In  this 
crisis  a  man  so  eminent  as  Davenport,  so  much  respected  by 
all  parties,  so  exempt  from  any  participation  in  the  contro- 
versy, so  learned  in  the  Scriptures,  so  skilled  in  the  great  art 
of  marking  distinctions  and  detecting  fallacies,  could  not  but 
be  welcomed  by  all — to  use  the  words  of  Mather,  "  as  Moses 
welcomed  Jethro,  hoping  that  he  would  be  as  eyes  to  them 
in  the  wilderness."  A  synod  was  soon  to  be  held  at  which 
the  controversies  of  the  day  were  to  be  examined,  and  if  pos- 
sible adjusted.  On  the  17th  of  August,  Mr.  Hooker  and  Mr. 
Stone  having  already  come  from  Connecticut  to  attend  the 
expected  synod,  "  Mr.  Davenport  preached  at  Boston  (it  be- 
ing the  lecture  day)  out  of  that  in  1  Cor.  '  I  exhort  you, 
brethren,  &c.,  that  there  be  no  divisions  among  you,'  &c. ; 
wherein,"  says  Gov.  Winthrop,  "as  he  fully  set  forth  the 
nature  and  danger  of  divisions,  and  the  disorders  which  were 
among  us,  so  he  clearly  discovered  his  judgment  against  the 
new  opinions  and  bitter  practices  which  were  sprung  up 
here."* 

The  synod  met  at  Cambridge  (then  called  Newtown)  on 
the  thirtieth  of  August,  Mr.  Hooker  of  Hartford,  and  Mr. 
Buckly  of  Concord,  being  the  moderators,  and  "  all  the  teach- 
ing elders  in  the  country  and  some  new  come  out  of  Eng- 
land, as  Mr.  Davenport,"  having  seats  in  the  assembly. 
During  the  three  weeks'  session  which  ensued,  Mr.  Daven- 
port was  active  in  promoting  the  ends  aimed  at  in  the  sermon 
just  referred  to.  "  The  learning  and  wisdom  of  this  worthy 
man,"  says  Mather,  "  in  the  synod  then  assembled,  did  con- 

*  Winthrop,  I,  236. 


85 

tribute  more  than  a  little  to  dispel  the  fascinating  mists  which 
had  suddenly  disordered  our  affairs."  The  session  being  fin- 
ished, Mr.  Davenport,  at  the  request  of  the  synod,  preached 
in  Boston  from  Phil,  iii,  16, — "Nevertheless,  whereto  we 
have  already  attained,  let  us  walk  by  the  same  rule,  let  us 
mind  the  same  thing."  In  his  sermon,  "  he  laid  down  the 
occasions  of  differences  among  Christians,  declared  the  effect 
and  fruit  of  the  synod,  and  with  much  wisdom  and  argument 
persuaded  to  unity."* 

The  wealth,  the  reputation,  and  the  intellectual  and  moral 
endowments  of  the  newly  arrived  company  of  emigrants, 
made  it  an  object  with  each  of  the  colonies  already  planted, 
to  secure  so  valuable  an  accession.  They  were  invited  to 
Plymouth  ;  offers  of  the  most  liberal  character  were  made  to 
them  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts ;  but  for  various  reasons 
they  determined  to  attempt  a  new  and  independent  settle- 
ment. Of  these  reasons,  the  most  obvious  and  most  cogent 
was,  that  their  chief  men  were  Londoners,  accustomed  chiefly 
to  commercial  pursuits,  and  there  was  no  considerable  pros- 
pect at  that  time  of  building  up  another  commercial  town  in 
either  of  those  elder  colonies.  Another  reason  was  found  in 
the  expectation  that  some  invasion  would  soon  be  made  upon 
the  liberties  of  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  by  the  sending 
over  of  a  general  governor.  In  some  way  they  expected,  by 
establishing  a  new  colony  out  of  the  bounds  of  any  existing 
jurisdiction,  without  any  charter,  or  any  recognition  of  de- 
pendence on  the  king,  to  escape  or  resist  the  power  of  the 
expected  general  governor.  Davenport  knew  that  Laud,  the 
head  of  the  royal  commissioners  for  the  colonies,  was  his 
personal  enemy,  and  had  uttered  against  him,  on  hearing  of 
his  retreat  into  America,  the  significant  threat,  My  arm  shall 
reach  him  there  ^  and  that  therefore  he,  of  all  men,  had  no 
reason  to  expect  any  favor  from  a  governor-general  ruling  in 
the  name  of  the  archbishop.  Is  it  not  possible  that  the  bold 
thought  was  entertained  of  asserting,  if  it  should  be  neces- 

*  Winthrop,  I,  241 .  t  Neal,  III,  229. 


sary,  an  absolute  independence  of  the  English  crown,  and 
of  the  English  state  ?  He  who  reads  their  records,  will  find 
nothing  to  contradict  such  an  hypothesis.  May  it  not  have 
been  among  their  imaginings,  that  the  progress  of  tyranny  in 
their  native  country  would  bring  to  New  England  increasing 
multitudes  of  such  men  as  they  were,  with  increasing  re- 
sources, till,  in  a  few  years,  they  should  be  able  to  defy  inva- 
sion ?  Nay,  had  not  the  progress  of  tyranny  in  England  been 
arrested  by  the  breaking  out  of  civil  war,  and  the  subversion 
of  the  monarchy,  might  not  such  an  idea  have  been  realized, 
and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  have  been  anticipated 
by  more"  than  a  century  ? 

Just  before  the  arrival  of  the  emigrants  from  Coleman 
street,  the  Pequot  war  had  made  the  colonists  acquainted 
with  a  tract  of  coast  till  that  time  unexplored.  The  soldiers 
who,  after  the  Mystic  fight,  pursued  the  flying  Pequots 
from  their  ancient  seat  east  of  the  Thames,  to  the  swamp 
beyond  the  Housatonic,  where  their  race  was  extinguished, 
had  been  struck  especially  with  the  vernal  beauty  of  this 
place.  Here  they  had  remained  several  days,  waiting  for 
information  of  the  route  of  the  enemies  they  were  pursuing. 
Captain  Stoughton  had  written  to  the  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, "  The  Providence  of  God  guided  us  to  so  excellent 
a  country  at  duaillipioak  river,  and  so  along  the  coast  as  we 
travelled,  as  I  am  confident  we  have  not  the  like  in  English 
possession  as  yet ;  and  probable  it  is  that  the  Dutch  will  seize 
it  if  the  English  do  not :  it  is  too  good  for  any  but  friends."* 
Captain  Underbill,  too,  had  brought  home  to  Boston  his  tes- 
timony of  "  that  famous  place  called  dueenapiok,"  that  "  it 
hath  a  fair  river,  fit  for  harboring  of  ships,  and  abounds 
with  rich  and  goodly  meadows."!  Mr-  Eaton,  therefore, 
early  in  September,  came  to  this  place  with  a  few  others  of 
his  company,  to  examine  it  in  person.  He  appears  to  have 
determined  at  once  on  this,  as  the  best  spot  for  their  under- 
taking ;  and  accordingly  he  left  a  few  men  here  through  the 

*  Hutchinson,  III,  62.  t  III,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  VI,  13. 


87 

winter,  to  make  some  little  preparation  for  commencing  the 
settlement.* 

When  Mr.  Davenport  and  his  company,  in  the  following 
spring,  removed  from  Massachusetts  to  this  place,  bringing 
with  them  many  families  who  had  been  settled  there,  but 
who  were  induced  by  the  bright  prospects  of  this  new  enter- 
prise, to  remove  themselves  out  of  that  jurisdiction,  the  mi- 
gration was  felt  to  be  a  great  weakening  of  the  Massachu- 
setts colony.  An  admirable  letter  to  the  government  of  that 
colony,  was  written  by  Mr.  Davenport,  and  signed  by  him- 
self and  Mr.  Eaton,  declaring  the  reasons  of  their  attempting 
a  separate  and  independent  colony.  The  whole  letter  is  full 
of  affection  and  devotion,  and  the  conclusion  particularly, 
which  I  read  to  you  from  the  original  autograph,  is  eloquent. 

"  The  season  of  the  year  and  other  weighty  considera- 
tions, compelled  us  to  hasten  to  a  full  and  final  conclusion 
which  we  are  at  last  come  unto,  by  God's  appointment  and 
direction,  we  hope  in  mercy,  and  have  sent  letters  to  Con- 
necticut for  a  speedy  transacting  the  purchase  of  the  parts 
about  Q,uillypieck  from  the  natives  which  may  pretend  title 
thereunto :  by  which  act  we  are  absolutely  and  irrevocably  in- 
gaged  that  way,  and  we  are  persuaded  that  God  will  order  it 
for  good  unto  these  plantations,  whose  love  so  abundantly 
above  our  deserts  or  expectations,  expressed  in  your  desire  of 
our  abode  in  these  parts,  as  we  shall  ever  retain  in  thankful 
memory,  so  we  shall  account  ourselves  thereby  obliged  to  be 
any  way  instrumental  and  serviceable  for  the  common  good 
of  these  plantations  as  well  as  of  those,  which  the  Divine  prov- 


*  Dr.  Dana  (Serin,  on  Completion  of  18th  Cent.,  45)  says,  "Seven  men 
began  the  settlement  in  the  autumn  of  1637.  Mr.  Joshua  Atwater,  a  gentle- 
man of  distinction  and  opulence,  was  of  the  seven.  They  passed  the  win- 
ter in  an  indifferent  shelter,  thrown  up  for  the  season,  near  the  South  Mar- 
ket." He  adds  that  Mr.  Atwater  "built  the  house  now  occupied  by  his 
great-grandson,  Thomas  Atwater,  a  convenient  habitation,  though  older,  by 
about  fifty  years,  than  any  in  the  city."  The  same  house  is  still  standing  in 
Fleet  street,  owned  and  occupied  by  descendants  of  the  original  proprietor. 
The  "  South  Market,"  I  am  told,  was  at  the  intersection  of  George  and  Church 
streets  with  Meadow  street  and  Congress  Avenue. 


88 

idence  hath  combined  together  in  as  strong  bond  of  brotherly 
affection,  by  the  sameness  of  their  condition,  as  Joab  and 
Abishai  were,  whose  several  armies  did  mutually  strengthen 
them  both  against  several  enemies — 2  Sam.  10 — 9,  10,  11. 
or  rather  they  are  joined  together  as  Hippocrates  his  twins, 
to  stand  and  fall,  to  grow  and  decay,  to  flourish  and  wither, 
to  live  and  die  together.  In  witness  of  the  premises  we 
subscribe  our  names,  JOHN  DAVENPORT, 

THEOPH.  EATON." 

The  12th  day  of  the  1st  Month  Anno  1638*. 

Behold  him  then  planted  here  in  New  Haven.  He  and 
his  friend  Eaton  build  their  dwellings  over  against  each 
other  on  the  same  street ;  and  the  intimacy  begun  when  they 
were  children  and  strengthened  in  their  earlier  manhood,  is 
prolonged  without  interruption,  till  in  a  good  old  age,  death 
separates  them  for  a  little  season,  to  meet  again  in  heaven. 
They  were  never  out  of  each  other's  thoughts  ;  and  rarely 
could  a  day  pass  by,  in  which  they  did  not  see  each  other  and 
take  counsel  together.  The  voice  of  prayer,  or  the  evening 
psalm,  in  one  of  their  dwellings,  might  be  heard  in  the  other. 
Whatever  changes  came  upon  one  family,  the  other  was  sure 
to  partake  immediately  in  the  sorrow  or  the  joy.  In  such 
neighborhood  and  intimacy,  these  two  friends  passed  their 
days  here,  till  the  full  strength  of  manhood  in  which  they 
came,  had  gradually  turned  to  venerable  age.  They  saw 
trials,  many  and  various  ;  trials  such  as  weigh  heaviest  upon 
the  spirit,  and  cause  the  heart  to  faint ;  but  in  all  their  trials 
they  had  one  hope,  one  consolation;  and  how  refreshing 
to  such  men,  in  such  vicissitudes,  is  the  sympathy  of  kindred 
souls,  well-tried  and  true.  Strong  in  themselves,  with  the 
gifts  of  nature,  the  endowments  of  education  and  experience, 
and  the  unction  of  Almighty  grace ;  strong  in  their  indi- 
vidual reliance  upon  God  their  help  and  Savior ;  they  were 
the  stronger  for  their  friendship,  the  stronger  for  their  mutual 

*  This  letter  was  first  published  in  the  appendix  to  Winthrop,  (1, 404,)  and 
afterwards  in  the  Mass.  His.  Coll.  (Ill  Series,  HI,  165,)  from  which  it  baa 
been  frequently  copied.  The  original  is  still  in  possession  of  F.  B.  Win- 
throp,  Esq.,  of  this  city. 


89 

counsels  the  stronger  for  the  sympathy  by  which  each  drew 
the  other  towards  the  great  fountain  of  strength,  and  love, 
and  life. 

Such  are  the  friendships  of  good  men.  Their  intima- 
cies make  them  better,  holier,  happier,  more  patient  for  en- 
durance, wiser  for  counsel,  stronger  for  every  godlike  action. 
"  But  the  ungodly  are  not  so." 


DISCOURSE    VI. 

JOHN    DAVENPORT    AND    THEOPHILUS  EATON   THE    FOUNDERS    OP 
A   NEW  REPUBLIC  :   VICISSITUDES    IN  NEW   HAVEN   TILL    1660. 

MATT,  iii,  3. — The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the 
•way  of  the  Lord. 

SOME  lineaments  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Davenport  and 
his  friend  Governor  Eaton,  may  be  traced  in  the  institutions 
which  they  gave  to  the  little  community  of  which  they 
were  the  founders,  and  in  the  conduct  of  that  commonwealth 
while  it  was  under  their  controlling  influence.  None  who 
read  the  records  of  the  town  and  colony,  can  doubt  either 
that  in  whatever  respects  New  Haven  differed  from  the  other 
New  England  colonies,  the  difference  was  owing  chiefly  to 
the  influence  of  these  two  men  ;  or  that  in  whatever  par- 
ticulars the  institutions  and  government  of  New  Haven  were 
conformed  to  those  of  the  other  colonies,  that  conformity 
was  because  these  two  men  were  of  the  same  sort  with  those 
truly  noble  men  who  planted  Plymouth,  and  the  Bay,  and 
the  Connecticut. 

First,  then,  the  fact  that  John  Davenport  and  Theophilus 
Eaton  had  this  commanding  influence  in  the  colony  of  New 
Haven,  shows  that  they  were  extraordinary  men.  What 
gave  them  this  influence  over  their  associates?  They 
brought  with  them  no  royal  grant  making  them  Lords  Pro- 
prietaries, as  Penn  and  Calvert  were  in  their  respective  prov- 
inces. They  had  no  commission  from  king  or  parliament, 
to  exercise  authority  over  the  emigrants  that  came  with  them. 
Their  influence  could  not  be  ascribed  to  their  wealth ;  for 
though  Eaton  was  the  wealthiest  of  the  colonists — his  estate 
being  rated  at  three  thousand  pounds ;  and  though  Daven- 
port was  one  of  the  nine  who,  after  the  governor,  were  the 
richest  inhabitants  of  the  town,  their  estates  being  rated  at 
one  thousand  pounds  each ;  their  superiority  in  this  respect 


91 

was  at  the  most  but  trifling,  and  in  such  a  country  as  this 
was  then,  wealth  alone  can  do  but  little  towards  giving  its 
possessor  permanent  influence.  To  what  then  shall  we  as- 
cribe their  controlling  influence  in  the  colony  ?  Will  you 
say  it  was  because  they  were  followed  hither  by  a  company 
of  weak,  enthusiastic  men,  easily  led  and  managed  ?  But 
weak,  enthusiastic  people,  easily  managed  by  one  man  to-day, 
will  be  just  as  easily  led  by  another  to-morrow.  It  was  not 
so  in  this  case.  The  people  of  New  Haven,  in  eighteen  suc- 
cessive annual  elections,  made  Theophilus  Eaton  their  chief 
magistrate  ;  and  for  thirty  years,  through  all  sorts  of  changes, 
they  adhered  to  their  honored  and  venerated  pastor  with  con- 
stant attachment.  The  great  power  of  these  two  men  had 
its  seat  in  the  understandings  and  affections  of  the  people. 
It  was  none  other  than  the  power  of  intellectual  superiority 
combined  with  unquestionable  moral  worth.  That  they 
had  such  power,  in  such  a  community,  proves  that  they  were 
of  the  number  of  those  who  are  created  to  govern  their  fel- 
low men  by  the  divine  right  of  genius  and  virtue. 

It  will  be  worth  our  while,  then,  to  look  at  the  distinctive 
character  of  the  New  Haven  colony,  as  illustrating  the  per- 
sonal character  of  its  two  principal  founders. 

1.  New  Haven  was  distinguished  above  the  other  colonies 
by  its  zeal  for  education.  On  this  point,  if  I  should  go  into 
all  the  particulars  which  would  be  interesting,  I  should  greatly 
transgress  the  limits  which  I  have  prescribed  to  myself ;  and 
indeed  there  is  the  less  occasion  for  this,  as  the  subject  has 
been  recently  treated  by  another,  far  better  than  I  could  hope 
to  do.*  I  will  only  say,  then,  that  if  we  of  this  city  enjoy 
in  this  respect  any  peculiar  privileges — if  it  is  a  privilege  that 
any  poor  man  here,  with  ordinary  health  in  his  family,  and 
the  ordinary  blessing  of  God  upon  his  industry,  may  give  to 
his  son,  without  sending  him  away  from  home,  the  best  edu- 
cation which  the  country  affords — if  it  is  a  privilege  to  us  to 
live  in  a  city  in  which  learning,  sound  and  thorough  educa- 

*  Kingsley's  Historical  Discourse. 


tion,  is,  equally  with  commerce  and  the  mechanic  arts,  a  great 
public  interest — if  it  is  a  privilege  to  us  to  record  among  our 
fellow  citizens  some  of  the  brightest  names  in  the  learning 
and  science,  not  of  our  country  only,  but  of  the  age,  and  to 
be  conversant  with  such  men,  and  subject  to  their  constant 
influence  in  the  various  relations  of  society — if  it  is  a  privi- 
lege that  our  young  mechanics,  in  their  associations,  can 
receive  instruction  in  popular  lectures  from  the  most  accom- 
plished teachers — if,  in  a  word,  there  is  any  privilege  in  hav- 
ing our  home  at  one  of  the  fountains  of  light  for  this  vast 
confederacy — the  privilege  may  be  traced  to  the  influence  of 
John  Davenport,  to  the  peculiar  character  which  he,  more 
than  any  other  man,  gave  to  this  community  in  its  very  be- 
ginning. Every  one  of  us  is  daily  enjoying  the  effects  of 
his  wisdom  and  public  spirit.  Thus  he  is  to-day  our  bene- 
factor ;  and  thus  he  is  to  be  the  benefactor  of  our  posterity 
through  ages  to  come.  How  aptly  might  that  beautiful  apos- 
trophe of  one  of  our  poets  have  been  addressed  to  him : 

"  The  good  begun  by  tbee  shall  onward  flow 
In  many  a  branching  stream,  and  wider  grow; 
The  seed  that  in  these  few  and  fleeting  hours, 
Thy  hands,  unsparing  and  unwearied,  sow, 
Shall  deck  thy  grave  with  amaranthine  flowers, 
And  yield  thee  fruit  divine  in  heaven's  immortal  bowers." 

2.  Another  characteristic  of  the  New  Haven  colony,  while 
it  continued  under  the  influence  of  its  two  great  fathers,  was 
great  strictness  in  the  administration  of  the  laws.  In  the 
words  of  Hubbard,  "  They  were  very  vigorous  in  the  exe- 
cution of  justice,  and  especially  the  punishment  of  offenders." 
The  meaning  of  this  is  not,  that  their  laws  were  more  severe 
than  those  of  the  other  colonies ;  on  the  contrary,  I  am  per- 
suaded, after  considerable  investigation,  that  the  reverse  is 
true.  The  meaning  is,  that  they  carried  all  their  laws  into 
effect,  with  a  more  impartial  and  undeviating  strictness  than 
was  practiced  elsewhere.  He  who  examines  our  public  rec- 
ords, with  reference  to  this  matter,  will  find  much  reason  to 
believe  that  the  historian  just  quoted  did  not  speak  at  ran- 


dom.  For  myself  I  may  say,  that  in  studying  these  records, 
I  have  acquired  new  views  of  the  dignity  which  belongs 
to  the  place  of  the  civil  magistrate.  I  seem  to  see,  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  courts,  in  which  the  Governor  constantly 
presided,  something  of  the  original  of  that  description  which 
Mather  has  so  elaborately  given,  in  writing  the  life  of  him 
whom  he  calls  the  Moses  of  New  Haven.  "  He  carried  in 
his  very  countenance  a  majesty  which  cannot  be  described  ; 
and  in  his  dispensations  of  justice,  he  was  a  mirror  for  the 
most  imitable  impartiality,  but  ungainsayable  authority  of  his 
proceedings,  being  awfully  sensible  of  the  obligations  which 
the  oath  of  a  judge  lays  upon  him.  Hence  he  who  would 
most  patiently  bear  hard  things  offered  to  his  person  in  private 
cases,  would  never  pass  by  any  public  affronts  or  neglects, 
when  he  appeared  under  the  character  of  a  magistrate.  But 
he  still  was  the  guide  of  the-  blind,  the  staff  of  the  lame,  the 
helper  of  the  widow  and  the  orphan,  and  all  the  distressed. 
None  that  had  a  good  cause  was  afraid  of  coming  before  him. 
On  the  one  side,  in  his  days  did  the  righteous  flourish ;  on 
the  other  side,  he  was  the  terror  of  evil  doers."  I  cannot 
doubt  that  this  character  of  Governor  Eaton  as  a  magistrate, 
is  substantially  correct.  He  and  those  who  were  associated 
with  him  in  the  government,  appear  to  have  been  greatly 
distinguished  by  a  strong  love  of  justice.  They  felt  that  it 
was  for  them  to  see  to  it  always  that  the  "  rules  of  righteous- 
ness" were  "  duly  attended."  Such  a  feeling  was  inculca- 
ted upon  them,  and  upon  the  people,  by  their  pastor.  He 
had  strong  views  of  the  divine  institution  of  civil  govern- 
ment, and  especially  of  that  government  which  the  people 
here  had  agreed  upon  as  most  agreeable  to  the  will  of  God. 
Never  elsewhere,  I  believe,  has  the  world  seen  magistrates 
who  felt  more  deeply  that  they  were  God's  ministers  execu- 
ting God's  justice.  The  law  which  they  administered  was 
not  the  law  of  man  merely ;  it  was  not  simply  a  conventional 
code,  or  an  arbitrary  system  of  regulations ;  it  was  the  law  of 
God,  the  great  eternal  rule  of  righteousness,  drawn  out  and 
applied  to  the  particular  exigencies  of  this  community ;  and 


94 

they  felt  that  for  them  to  wink  at  any  offenses  against  it,  was 
to  usurp  God's  supremacy. 

Something  of  the  effect  of  this  influence  still  lingers  among 
us.  No  small  part  of  our  population  consists  of  strangers,  if 
not  foreigners — men  whose  whole  character  has  been  formed 
elsewhere  and  under  other  agencies.  Magistracy  too  has  lost 
much  of  its  sacredness,  by  being  sometimes  committed  to 
unclean  or  incompetent  hands,  and  by  the  abuse  which  party 
malignancy  continually  heaps  upon  the  persons  of  magis- 
trates. Yet,  after  all,  there  is  here  a  veneration  for  law,  and 
a  "  deference  to  judicial  decisions,"*  which  I  have  not  seen 
surpassed  in  any  similar  community.  Wo  to  those  men  who 
are  laboring  to  counteract  such  a  sentiment.  If  they  do  it  in 
the  sacred  name  of  liberty,  or  in  the  more  sacred  name  of 
philanthropy,  theirs  is  the  greater  condemnation.  Far  dis- 
tant be  the  day  when  here  the  white  wand  of  an  unarmed 
constable  shall  lose  its  potency,  or  when  that  word,  THE  LAW, 
shall  no  longer  be  a  word  of  power  to  still  the  tumult  of  the 
people. 

*  One  day  last  spring,  just  before  the  delivery  of  this  discourse,  the  author, 
being  in  Boston,  entered  the  gallery  of  the  Marlborough  chapel,  where  a  so- 
ciety, claiming  a  high  place  among  tbe  philanthropic  institutions  of  the  age, 
was  holding  its  anniversary.  One  of  the  leading  spirits  and  public  agents  of 
the  society  was  holding  forth  his  sentiments  on  that  part  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, which  requires  an  apprentice  or  servant  fleeing  from  one  State  into 
another,  to  be  given  up  to  those  who,  by  the  laws  of  the  State  from  which 
he  flees,  are  entitled  to  his  services.  He  was  expressing  the  hope  that  juries 
in  New  England,  trying  cases  under  this  constitutional  law,  would  so  far 
perjure  themselves  as  to  bring  in  verdicts  contrary  to  known  law  and  fact ; 
and  in  so  doing,  he  expressed  great  contempt  for  that  "  strange  deference  to 
judicial  decisions,"  as  he  called  it,  which  is  so  prevalent  in  the  community, — 
as  if  he  did  not  know  that  it  is  this  very  deference  to  law  as  expounded  and 
applied  by  the  judges  of  the  land,  that  permits  him  to  wear  his  head  in 
safety. 

An  association,  protesting  against  an  existing  law  as  unwise,  or  unjust,  and 
using  lawful  means  to  change  the  law,  is  one  thing.  An  association  which 
undertakes  to  pronounce  the  law  no  law, — to  denounce  the  sworn  ministers 
of  the  law,  to  whom  the  constitution  gives  no  discretionary  power,  as  crimi- 
nals "  against  freedom,  humanity  and  religion," — to  organize  measures  for 
resisting  the  law, — is  another  thing,  and  is  likely  to  do  more  harm,  by  teach- 
ing people  to  despise  all  government  and  magistracy,  than  it  can  do  good  by 
any  philanthropic  endeavors. 


95 

3.  The  colony  of  New  Haven  was  distinguished  among 
the  colonies  of  the  New  England  confederation,  for  scrupu- 
lous justice  towards  the  Indians.  Hubbard  testifies  respect- 
ing the  fathers  of  New  Haven, — "  They  have  all  along  been 
mercifully  preserved  from  any  harm  or  violence  from  the  In- 
dians, setting  aside  a  particular  assault  or  two,  the  means 
whereof  hath  been  a  due  carefulness  in  doing  justice  to  them 
upon  all  occasions  against  the  English,  yet  far  avoiding  any 
thing  like  severity  or  flattery  for  base  ends."*  How  often, 
and  how  justly,  has  Penn  been  lauded  for  the  fact,  that  under 
his  administration  his  colony  had  no  collision  with  the  Indians. 
And  is  not  the  same  praise  due  to  the  civil  and  religious  lead- 
ers of  the  New  Haven  colony  for  the  parallel  fact,  that  the 
relations  between  New  Haven  and  the  wild  tribes  around 
were  always  those  of  perfect  amity  ?  The  Indians  of  this 
neighborhood,  as  all  our  records  show,  looked  upon  their 
English  neighbors  as  their  protectors.  When  one  of  them 
felt  himself  wronged  by  the  white  men,  he  came  to  the  courts 
here  with  his  complaint  as  freely  as  if  he  were  a  citizen. 
The  testimony  of  an  Indian  was  good  against  a  white  man. 
Again  and  again  white  men  were  found  guilty  and  punished 
on  no  other  testimony.  The  white  man  who  wronged  an 
Indian,  was  punished  the  more  severely,  as  his  conduct  tended 
to  prejudice  the  heathen  against  the  gospel,  and  to  cause  the 
name  of  God  to  be  blasphemed  among  the  Gentiles.  The 
Indian  who  was  found  guilty  of  an  offense,  was  treated  the 
more  gently  because  of  his  ignorance,  arid  being  dismissed 
with  such  punishment  as  the  rules  of  righteousness  seemed 
to  require  in  such  a  case,  was  told  that  had  he  been  an 
Englishman  he  would  not  have  come  off  so  easily.  All  the 
maligners  of  the  Puritans  may  be  defied  to  show,  that  one 
rood  of  ground,  within  this  colony,  was  acquired  otherwise 
than  by  a  free,  fair  bargain,  and  equitable  payment.f  In  all 
this  you  see  the  character  of  those  two  men  by  whom  the 
policy  of  this  jurisdiction  was  chiefly  influenced,  just  as 

*  Hubbard,  322. 

t  Some  details  on  this  subject  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix  No.  VIII. 


96 

% 

plainly  as  in  some  recent  measures  towards  the  Indians  you 
see  the  character, — I  will  not  say  of  those  who  are  in  author- 
ity,— but  of  those  by  whose  influence  in  this  matter,  those  in 
authority  are  governed,  as  the  clouds  are  turned  by  the  wind. 

4.  The  little  theocracy  in  which  Eaton  and  Davenport 
were  the  Moses  and  Aaron,  was  distinguished  from  the  other 
New  England  colonies  by  the  absence  of  frivolous  or  extrav- 
agant legislation.  Great  ridicule  has  been  thrown  upon  the 
Puritans  for  their  sumptuary  laws,  their  regulations  respect- 
ing dress,  manners,  and  expenditure,  their  authoritative  in- 
terference with  the  varying  fashions  of  the  day.  And  to  a 
great  extent  it  has  been  taken  for  granted,  upon  unfounded 
report,  that  the  old  New  Haven  colony  was  the  scene  of 
whatever  was  most  absurd,  or  most  ludicrous  in  that  sort  of 
legislation.  Liars  of  all  degrees,  as  if  to  take  their  revenge 
on  Governor  Eaton  for  his  law  against  lying,  have  exercised 
their  talent  in  defaming  his  memory,  by  defaming  the  colony 
for  which  he  lived. 

Now  as  for  sumptuary  laws, — laws  regulating  expenditure 
and  restraining  extravagance  and  folly, — I  have  no  disposition 
to  vindicate  them  on  the  score  of  policy.  But  that  they  are 
intrinsically  and  essentially  ridiculous,  I  cannot  admit.  I 
have  never  ascertained  from  history  that  such  laws,  enacted 
by  Lycurgus  or  Numa  Pompilius,  brought  boundless  con- 
tempt upon  their  authors.  And  how  such  laws  must  needs 
be  more  absurd  or  ludicrous  in  Massachusetts,  than  they 
were  in  Sparta  or  in  Rome,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand.  And 
still  more  mysterious  is  it,  how  the  New  Haven  colony,  in 
which  no  such  laws  ever  existed,  should  be  made  a  scape- 
goat, to  bear  away  into  the  wilderness  the  sins  in  this  particu- 
lar of  her  more  eastern  confederates. 

Laws  were  made  in  some  of  the  colonies,  prohibiting  the 
use  of  tobacco,  which  was  considered  as  a  sort  of  intoxication. 
To  the  lovers  of  tobacco,  this  doubtless  seems  arbitrary  and 
absurd.  But  such  as  are  unable  to  enter  into  their  peculiar 
feelings,  having  never  acquired  a  relish  for  this  filthiest  and 
most  noisome  of  narcotic  poisons,  may  be  excused  from  join- 


97 

ing  on  this  account  in  the  condemnation  of  Puritan  tyranny, 
and  may  perhaps  be  allowed  to  entertain  some  doubt  whether 
such  a  law,  especially  in  a  new  colony,  might  not  be  reason- 
ably vindicated.  But  however  that  question  may  be  decided, 
the  matter  of  fact  is,  that  the  use  of  tobacco,  in  a  proper  place, 
was  not  unlawful  in  the  New  Haven  jurisdiction.  The  only 
law  here  on  this  subject,  was  a  law  to  guard  against  acci- 
dents by  fire  ;  and  it  prohibited  the  taking  of  tobacco  "  in  the 
streets,"  or  "about  the  houses,"  or  "in  any  place  where  it  can 
do  mischief."  Similar  laws  now  exist  in  the  cities  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  ought  to  exist  in  every  city  that  pretends  to  be 
well  regulated. 

Laws  were  made  in  some  of  the  colonies  against  men's 
wearing  long  hair ;  laws  which,  to  those  who  have  observed 
how  some  of  the  foplings  of  this  day  are  beginning  to  cari- 
cature humanity,  and  to  make  themselves  more  hideous  than 
owls,  will  seem  to  be  very  excusable ;  but  no  such  laws  ex- 
isted in  New  Haven. 

Laws  were  made  elsewhere  to  restrain  the  vagaries  and 
follies  of  fashion  in  regard  to  female  attire.  But  I  can  find 
no  evidence  that  any  thing  of  the  kind  was  here  attempted. 
Here  the  ladies  were  permitted,  as  now,  to  put  on  whatever 
decorations  seemed  good  in  their  own  eyes,  and  in  the  eyes 
of  their  husbands  and  fathers,  subject  to  no  other  checks  than 
those  imposed  by  the  good  sense  of  a  sober-minded  and  in- 
telligent community. 

The  reason  of  all  this  must  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the 
settlers  of  New  Haven,  and  especially  those  two  by  whose 
influence  every  thing  of  this  kind  appears  to  have  been  chiefly 
directed,  were  men  who  saw,  or  at  least  felt,  the  impolicy  of 
legislative  interference  in  such  matters.  The  other  colonies 
were  settled  by  emigrants  from  various  provincial  towns  and 
agricultural  districts  ;  and  in  the  eyes  of  such  people,  how- 
ever intelligent  and  sensible  in  other  respects,  novelties  and 
extravagances  of  apparel  are  apt  to  seem  particularly  heinous. 
New  Haven  was  settled  chiefly  by  a  migration  from  the  city 
of  London ;  the  principal  adventurers  were  merchants ;  and 
13 


98 

the  two  leaders  were  men  who  had  seen  the  various  modes 
and  fashions  of  various  countries,  and  whose  position  in  their 
own  country  had  enabled  them  to  see  so  much  of  "Vanity 
Fair,"  that  they  were  not  easily  alarmed  by  the  few  rags  of  it 
which  might  follow  them  into  the  wilderness.  If  the  weight- 
ier matters  of  education,  religious  order  and  instruction,  sound 
morals,  and  the  thorough  execution  of  justice,  could  be  secur- 
ed, they  were  willing  that  others  should  care  for  the  "  mint, 
anise,  and  cummin"  of  apparel  and  furniture. 

I  shall  be  considered  by  some  as  giving  a  partial,  if  not  a 
partisan  view,  if  I  fail  to  notice  two  other  topics,  which, 
however,  can  be  noticed  here  only  very  briefly. 

Did  these  men  believe  in  witchcraft  ?  Certainly  they  did. 
Mr.  Davenport,  as  well  as  Mr.  Hooke,  introduced  the  sub- 
ject sometimes  into  his  preaching,  just  as  Sir  William  Black- 
stone,  at  a  much  later  period,  introduced  it  into  his  commen- 
taries on  the  laws  of  England.  Mr.  Davenport  probably 
never  called  in  question  for  a  moment,  the  then  universal 
opinion  of  the  reality  of  commerce  between  human  beings 
and  the  invisible  powers  of  darkness.  And  shall  he  be  set 
down  as  a  weak  and  credulous  man  because  he  did  not  throw 
off  all  the  errors  of  the  age  ?  Shall  the  age  in  which  he  lived 
be  deemed  an  age  of  extraordinary  credulity,  because  it  did 
not  rid  itself  of  prejudices  and  terrors  which  had  been  grow- 
ing in  the  world  ever  since  the  flood  ?  Shall  the  age  of  an- 
imal magnetism  take  credit  to  itself  because  it  does  not  be- 
lieve in  witchcraft  ? 

Yet  it  may  be  stated,  as  one  of  the  points  of  difference  be- 
tween this  and  the  sister  colonies,  that  there  was  never  any 
execution  or  condemnation  for  witchcraft  within  the  bounds 
of  the  New  Haven  jurisdiction.  One  execution  took  place 
at  Hartford  in  1647,  and,  within  a  few  years  afterwards,  an- 
other at  Stratford,  and  a  third  at  Fairfield.  In  1648,  the 
first  execution  for  this  crime  took  place  in  Massachusetts. 
But  here,  in  1653,  a  woman  finding  herself  talked  of  as  sus- 
pected, sued  all  her  neighbors,  including  several  of  the  first 
people  in  New  Haven,  for  defamation ;  and  the  result  was, 


that  while  she  was  herself  constrained  to  acknowledge  that 
some  things  in  her  conduct  were  sufficient  to  justify  suspi- 
cion— among  which  causes  of  suspicion,  was  that  discontented 
and  froward  temper  which  Mr.  Davenport  in  his  preaching 
had  described  as  preparing  a  person  to  be  wrought  upon  by 
the  devil  in  this  way  ; — and  though  she  was  seriously  warn- 
ed by  the  court  not  to  go  about  with  railing  speeches,  but  to 
meddle  with  her  own  business ;  the  crime  of  witchcraft  could 
not  be  made  out  against  her.  Twice  afterwards  the  same 
person  was  called  in  question  for  this  crime,  but  in  each  case, 
though  the  evidence  was  sufficient,  according  to  the  notions 
then  current,  to  justify  suspicion,  she  escaped  condemnation. 
Under  almost  any  other  jurisdiction  of  that  age,  this  woman, 
instead  of  dying  as  she  did  in  her  bed,  would  have  died  upon 
the  gallows,  or  have  been  burned  alive.  The  reason  of  her 
escaping  here  must  be  found,  I  apprehend,  in  the  fact  that 
here,  according  to  their  interpretation  of  the  "  judicial  laws 
of  God,"  nothing  was  considered  as  proved  but  by  the  testi- 
mony of  two  or  more  witnesses  to  the  same  particular ;  and 
in  the  fact  that  there  was  no  jury  here,  to  determine  the 
question  of  guilt  or  innocence,  according  to  their  impressions 
received  from  the  testimony  as  a  whole.  The  trial  by  jury 
is  invaluable  as  a  security  for  liberty  against  a  strong  govern- 
ment, but  it  is  not  the  surest  way  of  excluding  popular  pre- 
judices and  passions  from  the  administration  of  justice.* 

But  I  am  asked  again,  Did  not  these  good  fathers  of  ours 
inflict  punishment  on  the  Quakers  ?  I  answer,  They  did, 
not  indeed  by  hanging,  but  by  branding,  whipping,  and 
fining  ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  if  these  penalties  had  not  kept 
their  coast  clear  from  such  invaders,  they  would  have  pro- 
ceeded to  hanging.  They  did  not  understand  aright  the 
great  principles  of  universal  religious  freedom.  They  came 
here  for  their  own  freedom  and  peace  ;  and  that  freedom  and 
peace  they  thought  themselves  authorized  and  bound  to  de- 
fend against  all  invaders.  The  Quakers,  however,  whom 

*  Kingsley,  53  and  100. 


100 

they  punished,  were  not  a  sect  rising  up  on  the  soil  of  New 
England,  and  claiming  simply  the  right  of  separate  worship 
and  of  free  discussion.  They  were  invaders  who  came  from 
Old  England  to  New,  for  the  sole  and  declared  purpose  of 
disturbance  and  revolution.  They  came  propagating  prin- 
ciples which  were  understood  to  strike  at  the  foundation  not 
only  of  the  particular  religious  and  civil  polity  here  establish- 
ed, but  of  all  order  and  of  society  itself.  In  their  manner  of 
proceeding  they  outraged  peace  and  order,  openly  cursing 
and  reviling  the  faith  and  worship  which  the  New  England- 
ers  had  come  to  the  world's  end  to  enjoy  in  quietness,  the  ma- 
gistrates venerable  for  wisdom  and  public  spirit,  and  the  min- 
isters whose  gifts  and  faithfulness  were  esteemed  the  bright- 
est glory  of  the  land.  They  outraged  the  religious  rights  and 
freedom  of  those  whom  they  came  to  enlighten,  thrusting 
themselves  into  worshiping  assemblies  on  the  Lord's  day  and 
on  other  occasions,  and  interrupting  the  worship  or  the  ser- 
mon with  their  outcries  of  contradiction  and  cursing.  They 
outraged  natural  decency  itself:  one  of  their  women-preach- 
ers, Deborah  Wilson  by  name,  "went  through  the  streets  of 
Salem  naked  as  she  came  into  the  world  ;"*  and  in  other  in- 
stances, they  came  in  the  same  plight  into  the  public  religious 
assemblies  ;f  and  all  to  show  by  that  sign  the  nakedness  of 
other  people's  sins.  I  cannot  doubt  that  such  people — if  in- 
deed they  were  not  too  insane  to  be  accountable  for  any 
thing — deserved  to  be  punished,  not  for  their  opinions,  but 
for  their  actions ;  not  for  their  exercising  their  own  rights, 
but  for  their  invading  the  rights  of  others  ;  not  for  their  pub- 
lication of  offensive  and  even  disorganizing  doctrines,  but  for 
their  outrages  on  decorum,  and  their  disturbances  of  the  pub- 
lic peace.  If  we  condemn  our  fathers  in  this  matter,  it  should 
not  be  because  they  punished  such  offenders,  but  because 
they  punished  them  for  heresy. 

But  let  us  compare  the  conduct  of  our  ancestors  in  this 
very  matter,  with  the  .conduct  of  some  in  our  more  enlight- 

*  Hutchinson,  I,  204.  t  Mather,  Magn.,  VII,  100. 


101 

ened  and  free  thinking  age.  The  real  successors  of  the 
Quakers  of  that  day — the  men  who  come  nearest  to  those 
enthusiasts  in  their  actual  relations  to  the  public — are  not  to 
be  found  in  those  orderly  and  thrifty  citizens  of  Philadelphia 
who  are  distinguished  from  their  fellow  citizens  in  Chestnut 
street,  by  a  little  more  circumference  of  the  hat,  and  a  little 
peculiarity  of  grammar,  and  perhaps  a  little  more  quietness 
and  staidness  of  manner.  What  we  call  Quakers  in  this 
generation,  are  no  more  like  George  Fox  in  his  suit  of  leather, 
than  the  pomp  and  riches  of  an  English  Archbishop  are  like 
the  poverty  of  an  Apostle.  Do  you  find  these  men  going 
about  like  mad  men,  reviling  magistrates; and  all  in  authority, 
cursing  ministers,  and  publishing  doctrines  that  strike  at  the 
existence  of  all  government  ?  No,  if  you  would  find  the  true 
successors  of  the  Quakers  of  1650,  you  must  look  elsewhere. 
The  anti-slavery  agitators  of  our  day,  are  extensively  re- 
garded very  much  as  the  Quakers  were  regarded  by  our  an- 
cestors. Some  of  them  execrate  our  constitution  and  our 
laws,  and  revile  our  magistrates,  and  utter  all  manner  of  re- 
proach against  our  ministers  and  our  churches.  Some  of 
them  go  about  preaching  doctrines  which  tend  not  only  to 
the  extinction  of  the  "  peculiar  institutions"  of  one  part  of  our 
country,  and  the  subversion  of  our  "  glorious  union,"  but  to 
absolute  and  universal  anarchy.  We  cannot  indeed  charge 
upon  them  every  thing  that  was  charged  upon  the  ancient 
Quakers :  Mr.  Garrison  himself  has  not  yet  put  on  the  leather 
jerkin  of  George  Fox ;  nor  have  we  heard  of  his  attempting, 
like  Humphrey  Norton,  to  break  in  with  his  ravings  upon  the 
solemn  worship  of  a  religious  assembly  on  the  Sabbath  ;  nor 
has  Miss  Grimke,  or  Miss  Abby  Kelly,  set  herself  to  testify 
against  the  sins  of  the  people  in  just  the  same  style  with 
Deborah  Wilson.  But  they  have  published  doctrines  highly 
offensive  to  public  opinion,  and  as  is  commonly  believed 
highly  dangerous  to  society  j  they  have  invaded  Congress 
with  their  petitions ;  nay,  it  is  even  reported  that  they  have 
been  seen  in  public  places,  walking  arm  in  arm  with  persons 
of  African  descent  and  complexion.  And  how  are  these  men 


102 

treated,  in  our  age  of  toleration  and  free  inquiry  ?  How  are 
they  treated  by  those  who  are  most  fiercely  liberal,  in  the 
condemnation  of  our  ancestors  for  persecuting  the  Quakers  ? 
The  answer  is  found  in  the  roar  of  mobs  and  the  smoke  of 
smouldering  ruins — in  presses  violently  suppressed — in  the 
murder  of  editors,  and  the  acquittal  of  the  murderers  by  per- 
jured jurymen.  How  are  they  treated  in  those  enlightened 
regions  of  the  Union,  where  Puritanism,  Blue  laws,  and  New 
England  intolerance,  are  renounced  most  fervently  and  de- 
voutly ?  Let  one  of  these  "  pestilent  fanatics"  adventure  on 
a  mission  in  Mississippi  or  Virginia,  and  how  much  better 
does  he  fare  than  Humphrey  Norton  fared  in  Plymouth  and 
New  Haven  ?*  The  "  little  finger"  of  a  Lynch  Committee, 
is  "  thicker  than  the  loins"  of  a  Puritan  magistracy,  against 
the  fanatics  that  make  war  upon  established  opinions  and 
cherished  institutions. 

What  then  is  the  chief  difference  between  that  age  and 
the  present,  in  respect  to  tolerance,  in  an  extreme  case  like  that 
of  the  Quakers  ?  The  difference  is  just  this.  Our  ancestors 
made  laws  against  the  fanatics  with  whom  they  had  to  do, 
and  boldly  and  manfully  maintained  those  laws.  The  Qua- 
ker who  suffered  in  New  England,  suffered  the  penalty  of  a 
known  law,  after  a  judicial  conviction.  In  our  day,  on  the 
other  hand,  laws  to  limit  freedom  of  opinion  and  of  discus- 
sion, are  inconsistent  with  the  enlightened  and  liberal  max- 
ims of  government,  that  now  so  happily  prevail ;  and  there- 
fore what  the  law  cannot  do,  in  that  it  is  weak,  must  be  done 
by  the  mob,  without  law  and  against  law,  in  that  high  court 
of  equity  where  rage,  more  fanatical  than  any  other  fanati- 
cism, is  at  once  accuser,  witness,  judge,  and  executioner. 

But  we  return  to  our  narrative  of  the  life  of  Davenport. 
Some  things  which  might  properly  be  included  in  such  a  nar- 
rative, have  already  been  noticed,  in  the  account  which  has 
been  given  of  the  organization  of  the  Church,  the  election 
and  ordination  of  officers,  the  erection  of  the  house  of  wor- 
ship, and  the  forms  of  worship  and  of  discipline. 

*  Kingsley,  99. 


103 

At  first,  as  we  have  already  observed,  the  two  chief  foun- 
ders of  our  community  saw  their  enterprise  succeeding  in 
some  measure  according  to  their  hopes.  Immediately  a 
town,  with  "  fair  and  stately  houses,"  began  to  rise  around 
them.  The  foundations  of  the  Church  and  of  the  civil  State 
were  laid  according  to  their  apprehensions  of  the  word  of 
God.  The  house  of  worship  was  reared,  and  filled  with 
devout  and  consenting  worshipers.  Confederate  neighbor 
towns  were  built  on  the  right  and  on  the  left,  and  planta- 
tions of  great  promise  were  made  on  the  island.  And  while 
in  their  native  country  all  things  were  tending  to  confusion, 
and  men's  hearts  were  failing  them  for*  fear  of  what  might 
come  upon  the  land  in  the  progress  of  God's  judgments,  here 
seemed  to  be  realized  more  and  more  the  vision  of  the  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  ; 
and  already  men  were  beginning  to  look  to  this  new  world 
for  lights  and  models  by  which  to  reform  the  institutions  of 
the  old. 

In  the  year  1642,  letters  were  sent  from  several  members 
of  both  houses  of  parliament,  and  from  some  ministers  in 
England,  earnestly  inviting  Mr.  Davenport,  with  Mr.  Hooker 
of  Hartford  and  Mr.  Cotton  of  Boston,  to  return  to  their  na- 
tive country  for  a  season,  in  order  to  assist  in  conducting  to 
a  happy  issue  the  great  revolution  then  in  progress  there. 
Those  who  made  the  request  are  said  to  have  been  desirous 
of  securing  the  independence  of  the  Churches,  and  were 
probably -solicitous  to  obtain  in  England  at  that  time  the  as- 
sistance of  men  so  distinguished  by  their  abilities  and  expe- 
rience, who  would  take  strong  ground  not  only  against  the 
then  established  system,  but  also  against  that  "  classic  hier- 
archy," as  Milton  called  it,  which  the  Scotch  were  then 
endeavoring  to  force  upon  the  English  Churches.  "  The 
condition,"  said  they,  "  wherein  the  state  of  things  in  this 
kingdom  doth  now  stand,  we  suppose  you  have  from  the  re- 
lations of  others ;  whereby  you  cannot  but  understand  how 
great  need  there  is  of  the  help  of  prayer,  and  improvement 
of  all  good  means,  from  all  parts,  for  the  settling  and  com- 


104 

posing  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  We  therefore  present  to 
you  our  earnest  desires  of  you  all.  To  show  wherein,  or 
how  many  ways,  you  may  be  useful,  would  easily  be  done 
by  us,  and  found  by  you,  were  you  present  with  us.  In  all 
likelihood  you  will  find  opportunity  enough  to  draw  forth  all 
that  helpfulness  which  God  shall  afford  by  you.  And  we 
doubt  not  these  advantages  will  be  such,  as  will  fully  answer 
all  inconveniences  yourselves,  Churches  or  plantations,  may 
sustain  in  this  your  short  voyage  and  absence  from  them. 
Only  the  sooner  you  come,  the  better." 

When  this  invitation  was  received  at  Boston,  such  of  the 
magistrates  and  ministers  of  that  colony  as  could  be  conveni- 
ently assembled,  met  for  consultation.  Most  of  them  thought 
that  it  was  to  be  regarded  as  "  a  call  of  God ;"  yet  they  chose 
not  to  give  any  definite  advice  till  they  should  hear  from 
Connecticut  and  New  Haven.  Upon  the  return  of  the  mes- 
senger that  was  sent  to  these  parts,  it  appeared  that  Mr. 
Hooker  was  averse  to  the  proposal,  "nor  thought  it  any  suf- 
ficient call  for  them  to  go  a  thousand  leagues  to  confer  with 
a  few  persons  that  differed  from  the  rest  in  matter  of  church 
government."  Mr.  Davenport  was  himself  of  a  different 
mind  ;  but  the  brethren  of  his  Church,  having  set  time  apart 
to  understand  the  mind  of  God  in  the  case,  came  to  the  con- 
clusion, "  that  in  regard  they  had  but  one  officer,  they  could 
not  see  their  way  clear  to  spare  him  for  so  long  a  time  as 
such  a  journey  required."  Mr.  Cotton  was  strongly  inclined 
to  comply  with  the  invitation,  and  would  have  gone,  if  the 
others  had  not  declined  going.  Had  any  of  them  gone,  it  is 
probable  they  would  have  been  drawn,  like  Hugh  Peters,  into 
the  vortices  of  that  vast  commotion,  and  would  never  have 
returned  to  their  Churches  in  New  England.* 

*  Winthrop,  II,  76.  Hubbard,  409.  Hutchinson,  I,  115.  It  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  these  letters  are  said  to  have  contained  an  invitation  to  seats 
in  the  famous  Westminster  Assembly.  The  fact  is,  that  the  parliamentary 
ordinance  calling  that  Assembly  bears  date  June  12,  1643;  and  yet  these  let- 
ters were  received  in  Boston  in  September,  1642.  The  invitation,  signed  by 
members  of  both  houses  of  Parliament,  and  by  some  ministers,  (which  Hutch- 
inson gives  at  full  length,)  makes  no  mention  of  any  expected  Synod  or  As- 


105 

For  a  while,  the  colonists  here  adhered  steadfastly  to  their 
original  plan,  of  supporting  themselves  in  their  exile,  and 
building  up  their  town,  by  commerce.  They  built  some 
shipping.  They  purchased  lands  on  the  Delaware,  and  at 
some  other  places,  and  erected  trading-houses  to  buy  beaver 
of  the  natives.  They  sent  their  cargoes  into  foreign  parts, 
and  expected  to  make  such  gains  as  would  support  and  extend 
their  town,  so  beautifully  planned.  But  soon  it  began  to  ap- 
pear that  their  commercial  enterprises,  undertaken  perhaps  on 
too  large  a  scale  at  first,  and  with  too  little  knowledge  of  the 
particular  nature  of  the  business,  were  likely  to  be  involved 
in  disaster.  Some  of  their  number  seem  to  have  returned  to 
England  ;  while  not  a  few,  who  had  been  expected  to  bring 
large  accessions  of  wealth  and  strength,  never  came.  Those 
that  remained  found  their  estates  sinking  so  fast,  that  some- 
thing must  be  done  to  retrieve  their  fortunes,  or  all  their 
hopes  would  fail.  Accordingly,  about  eight  years  after  their 
arrival  here,  "  they  did,  as  it  were,  gather  all  their  re- 
maining strength  to  the  building  and  loading  out  one  ship  for 
England,  to  try  if  any  better  success  might  befal  them." 
The  ship,  whose  name  no  record  and  no  tradition  has  re- 
tained, seems  to  have  been  the  property  of  an  association. 
The  "  company  of  merchants  in  New  Haven,"  consisting  of 
Mr.  Eaton,  Mr.  Gregson,  Mr.  Malbon,  and  Mr.  Goodyear,  ap- 
pear to  have  united  their  resources  in  building,  equipping  and 
loading  the  vessel.*  "  Into  this  ship,"  says  an  ancient  histo- 
rian, "  they  put  in  a  manner  all  their  tradeable  estates,  much 
corn,  and  large  quantities  of  plate  ;"  and  among  the  seventy 
that  embark  for  the  voyage,  are  several  "  of  very  precious  ac- 
count" in  the  colony.  In  the  month  of  January,  1646,  the 
harbor  being  frozen  over,  a  passage  is  cut  through  the  ice, 

sembly.  Such  a  synod  as  that  afterwards  convened  at  Westminster,  was 
proposed  as  early  as  December,  1641  ;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  private 
letters,  accompanying  the  formal  invitation,  urged  these  New  England  di- 
vines by  the  argument  that  a  synod  was  likely  to  be  called,  and  that  if  they 
were  on  that  side  of  the  ocean,  they  might  have  places  in  that  body,.and  thus 
great  influence  in  remodeling  the  Church  of  England. 
*  Colony  Records. 

14 


106 

with  saws,  for  three  miles;  and  "  the  great  ship,"  on  which 
so  much  depends,  is  out  upon  the  waters,  and  ready  to  begin 
her  voyage.  Mr.  Davenport  and  a  great  company  of  the  peo- 
ple go  out  upon  the  ice,  to  give  the  last  farewell  to  their 
friends.  The  pastor,  in  solemn  prayer,  commends  them  to 
the  protection  of  God,  and  they  depart.  The  winter  passes 
away ;  the  ice-bound  harbor  breaks  into  ripples  before  the 
soft  breezes  of  the  spring.  Vessels  from  England  arrive  on 
the  coast ;  but  they  bring  no  tidings  of  the  New  Haven 
ship.  Vain  is  the  solicitude  of  wives  and  children,  of  kindred 
and  friends.  Vain  are  all  inquiries, 

"  They  ask  the  waves,  and  ask  the  felon  winds, 
And  question  every  gust  of  rugged  wings 
That  blows  from  off  each  beaked  promontory." 

Month  after  month,  hope  waits  for  tidings.  Affection,  unwil- 
ling to  believe  the  worst,  frames  one  conjecture  and  another 
to  account  for  the  delay.  Perhaps  they  have  been  blown  out 
of  their  track  upon  some  undiscovered  shore,  from  which 
they  will  by  and  by  return,  to  surprise  us  with  their  safety : — 
perhaps  they  have  been  captured,  and  are  now  in  confine- 
ment. How  many  prayers  are  offered  for  the  return  of  that 
ship,  with  its  priceless  treasures  of  life  and  affection  !  At 
last,  anxiety  gradually  settles  down  into  despair.  Gradually 
they  learn  to  speak  of  the  wise  and  public  spirited  Gregson, 
the  brave  and  soldier-like  Turner,  the  adventurous  Lamber- 
ton,  that  "  right  godly  woman"  the  wife  of  Mr.  Goodyear, 
and  the  others,  as  friends  whose  faces  are  never  more  to  be 
seen  among  the  living.  In  November,  1647,  their  estates  are 
settled,  and  they  are  put  upon  record  as  deceased.  Yet  they 
were  not  forgotten  ;  but  long  afterwards,  the  unknown  mel- 
ancholy fate  of  those  who  sailed  in  Lamberton's  ship,  threw 
its  gloomy  shadow  over  many  a  fireside  circle.* 

*  Ten  members  of  the  Church  were  of  the  company  in 
"  That  fatal  and  perfidious  bark, 

Built  in  the  eclipse,  and  rigg'd  with  curses  dark." 

"  Divers  manuscripts  of  some  great  men  in  the  country,  sent  over  for  the 
service  of  the  Church,"  were  also  "  buried  in  the  ocean."  Among  these 


107 

Two  years  and  five  months  from  the  sailing  of  that  ship, 
in  an  afternoon  in  June,  after  a  thunder  storm,  not  far  from 
sunset,  there  appeared  over  the  harbor  of  New  Haven,  the 
form  of  the  keel  of  a  ship  with  three  masts,  to  which  were 
suddenly  added  all  the  tackling  and  sails ;  and  presently 
after,  upon  the  highest  part  of  the  deck,  a  man  standing 
with  one  hand  leaning  against  his  left  side,  arid  in  his  right 
hand  a  sword  pointing  towards  the  sea.  The  phenomenon 
continued  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  was  seen  by  a 
crowd  of  wondering  witnesses, — till  at  last,  from  the  farther 
side  of  the  ship,  there  arose  a  great  smoke,  which  covered 
all  the  ship ;  and  in  that  smoke  she  vanished  away.  Fifty 
years  afterwards,  while  several  of  the  witnesses  of  this 
strange  appearance  were  yet  alive,  the  story  was  great  in  the 
traditions  of  the  colony ;  and  it  was  reported  by  some  of  the 
survivors,  that  Mr.  Davenport  publicly  declared  "  that  God 
had  condescended  to  give,  for  the  quieting  of  their  afflicted 
spirits,  this  extraordinary  account  of  his  disposal  of  those  for 
whom  so  many  prayers  had  been  offered."* 

were  Hooker's  "  Survey  of  the  Sum  of  Church  Discipline,"  and  Daven- 
port's "Power  of  Congregational  Churches;"  both  of  which  were  after- 
wards re-written  by  the  authors. 

*  Hubbard  (321)  gives  a  full  account  of  the  building  and  sailing  of  Lam- 
berton's  ship,  but  says  nothing  of  the  famous  atmospheric  phenomenon  which 
the  traditions  of  New  Haven  colony  connected  with  the  loss  of  their  great 
ship.  Winthrop,  whose  history  is  like  a  newspaper  of  the  times,  mentions 
the  sailing  of  the  vessel  (11,254,)  at  the  time,  mentions  also  the  loss,  (266,) 
when  the  Toss  became  certain,  and  afterwards  repeats  the  whole  story  with 
corrections.  He  says,  she  was  of  "  about  100  tons,"  "  laden  with  pease  and 
some  wheat  all  in  bulk,  200  West  India  hides  and  store  of  beaver  and  plate, 
so  as  it  was  estimated  in  all  at  5000  pounds."  There  was  a  tempest  not  long 
after  she  sailed.  According  to  Pierpont,  she  was  "  of  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  tons." 

The  account  of  the  phantom-ship  is  given  by  Winthrop,  (II,  328,)  under 
the  date  of  June  28,  1648.  His  story  is  the  story  as  he  heard  it  at  Boston. 
Mather  (Magn.I,  25)  gives,  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Pierpont,  the  story  as  it  was 
reported  at  New  Haven,  half  a  century  afterwards,  by  "  the  most  sensible,  ju- 
dicious and  curious  surviving  observers."  The  identity  of  the  two  accounts 
seems  to  me  more  striking  than  the  comparatively  slight  diversities. 

The  mistake  in  Mr.  Pierpont's  letter  respecting  the  year  in  which  Lamber- 
ton's  ship  was  lost,  is  rationally  accounted  for  by  Mr.  Savage,  in  his  note 
on  the  passage  in  Winthrop.  I  may  add,  however,  that  the  records  of  the 


108 

In  the  year  1651,  Mr.  Davenport  was  invited  to  remove  to 
Boston  and  become  the  pastor  of  a  new  Church  there — the 
second  Church  in  that  town,  which  was  organized  the  year 
before.*  But  his  attachment  to  New  Haven  was  too  strong. 
He  chose  rather  to  remain  in  this  little  and  unprosperous  col- 
ony, where  the  entire  constitution,  ecclesiastical  and  civil, 
was  conformed  to  his  views  of  the  mind  of  God,  than  to 
leave  these  interests  for  a  settlement  in  a  more  prosperous 
community. 

In  the  year  1657,  the  colonies  of  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut united  in  calling  a  general  Synod,  to  meet  at  Boston, 
for  consultation  on  certain  questions  of  ecclesiastical  order, 
which  had  in  some  way  grown  out  of  a  painful  and  pro- 
tracted controversy  in  the  Church  at  Hartford.  A  letter  was 
sent  to  the  General  Court  of  this  colony,  requesting  them  to 
send  some  of  the  elders  of  their  Churches  to  assist  in  the 
Synod.  The  questions  proposed  for  the  consideration  of  the 
Synod,  were  numerous,  and  some  of  them  harmless  enough. 
But  the  great  questions  to  be  resolved,  were  questions  that 
struck  directly  at  the  purity  and  liberty  of  the  Churches,  and 
even  at  their  existence  as  independent  of  the  civil  power ; 
and  they  seem  to  have  been  got  up  by  a  party  desirous  of 
introducing  that  lax  administration  of  church  ordinances, 
which  characterizes  all  countries  where  religion  is  secular- 
ized by  the  subjection  of  the  Church  to  the  state.  At  Mr. 
Davenport's  advice,  who  saw  that  the  object  of  the  disaf- 
fected party  was  to  unsettle  those  foundations  which  he  re- 
garded as  all-important,  the  General  Court  of  New  Haven 
colony  returned  to  the  invitation  from  Massachusetts  a  cour- 
teous but  decided  negative.! 

town,  might  mislead  a  hasty  reader  as  to  the  time  when  Lamberton  and 
Gregson  disappeared  from  the  scene.  But  the  probate  records,  as  they  con- 
tain a  will  made  by  one  of  the  passengers  when  she  was  about  to  embark> 
confirm  the  date  given  by  Winthrop. 

Another  great  ship  was  built  at  New  Haven  in  1646,  and  some  more  dili- 
gent explorer  may  find  that  I  have  not  distinguished  between  that  and  Lam- 
berton's  with  sufficient  accuracy.  Lamberton's  is  said  to  have  been  built  at 
Rhode  Island.  Magn.  I,  25. 

*  Town  Records.     Ware,  Hist,  of  Second  Church  in  Boston,  5. 

t  Trumbull,  I,  300.     Colony  Records. 


109 

During  the  same  year,  in  compliance  with  a  proposal  from 
the  commissioners  of  the  united  colonies,  Mr.  Davenport, 
together  with  Mr.  Higginson,  then  minister  of  Guilford,  and 
Mr.  Pierson,  then  minister  of  Branford,  were  requested  by 
the  General  Court  for  the  jurisdiction,  "  to  gather  up  the 
most  remarkable  passages  of  God's  providence  in  these  parts, 
which  have  been  observable  since  their  first  beginnings, 
which  may  be  a  heap  towards  the  compiling  of  a  history  of 
of  the  gracious  providences  of  God  to  New  England."* 
Whether  any  thing  was  done  in  consequence  of  this  re- 
quest does  not  appear.  The  record  is  interesting,  as  show- 
ing the  carefulness  of  our  ancestors  to^  let  nothing  be  lost, 
which  might  tend  either  to  the  glory  of  God,  or  to  the  in- 
struction of  their  posterity. 

In  January,  1658,  not  quite  twenty  years  after  the  beginning 
of  the  colony,  all  New  England,  but  most  of  all,  Mr.  Dav- 
enport, was  bereaved  by  the  death  of  the  excellent  Theophi- 
lus  Eaton.  This  good  man  had  been  wont  to  say,  "  Some 
count  it  a  great  matter  to  die  well ;  but  I  am  sure  it  is  a 
greater  matter  to  live  well.  All  our  care  should  be,  while  we 
have  our  life,  to  use  it  well ;  and  so  when  death  puts  an  end 
to  that,  it  will  put  an  end  to  all  our  cares."  Having  lived 
according  to  the  spirit  of  this  maxim,  making  it  all  his  care 
to  live  well,  "  God  would  have  him  to  die  well,"  says  the 
quaint  historian,  "  without  any  room  or  time  then  given  to 
care  at  all ;  for  he  enjoyed  a  death  sudden  to  every  one  but 
himself. ';  Having  worshiped  God  with  his  family  after  his 
usual  manner,  and  upon  some  occasion  having  charged  all 
the  family  to  be  attentive  to  their  mistress  then  confined  by 
sickness,  "  he  supped ;  and  then  took  a  turn  or  two  abroad  for 
his  meditations."  After  that,  he  came  in  to  bid  his  wife  good 
night,  before  leaving  her  with  those  who  were  to  watch  with 
her.  She  said  to  him,  "Me thinks  you  look  sad."  He  re- 
plied, "  The  differences  arisen  in  the  church  of  Hartford 
make  me  sad."  She  then,  discontented  as  she  long  had 
been,  said,  "  Let  us  even  go  back  to  our  native  country." 
To  which,  he  answered,  "  You  may,  but  I  shall  die  here." 

*  Colony  Records. 


no 

This  was  the  last  word  she  ever  heard  him  speak.  He  re- 
tired to  his  chamber ;  and  about  midnight  he  was  heard  to 
groan ;  and  to  some  one  who  instantly  came  in  to  inquire 
how  he  did,  he  answered  only,  "  Very  ill,"  and  immedi- 
ately fell  asleep  in  Jesus.* 

He  died  in  the  night  between  the  7th  and  8th  of  January, 
and  was  buried  on  the  llth,  as  the  record  states  with  un- 
wonted particularity,  "  about  two  in  the  afternoon."!  His 
grave  is  just  behind  the  pulpit  window  ;  where  "  the  come- 
ly tomb,  such  as  the  colony  was  capable  of,"  stood,  till  with- 
in a  few  years  past,  the  memorial  of  his  worth  and  of  the 
people's  gratitude.  Many  were  the  expressions  of  public 
veneration  for  that  "  man  of  singular  wisdom,  godliness,  and 
experience,"  which  found  a  place  in  the  records  of  the  town 
and  of  the  colony. 

That  the  grief  of  the  people  at  his  loss,  and  the  honors  paid 
to  his  memory,  were  not  extravagant,  appears  from  the  ac- 
count of  his  character  given  by  the  early  historians  of  New 
England.  And  in  these  days  of  faction,  when  it  is  so  exten- 
sively held  that  man's  private  and  personal  character  has 
little  or  nothing  to  do  with  his  qualifications  for  elevated 
stations  in  the  commonwealth,  it  may  be  useful  as  well  as  re- 
freshing, to  dwell  a  little  upon  their  delineation  of  the  char- 
acter of  one  of  New  England's  primitive  statesmen. 

Hubbard,  himself  partly  cotemporary  with  Governor  Eaton, 
says  of  him,  "After  he  saw  the  manner  of  the  country,  he 
soon  gave  over  trading,  and  betook  himself  to  husbandry, 
wherein,  though  he  met  with  the  inconveniences  usual  to 
others,  which  very  much  consumed  his  estate,  yet  he  main- 
tained a  port  in  some  measure  answerable  to  his  place  ;  and 
although  he  was  capable  of,  and  had  been  much  used  in  af- 

*  Magnalia,  II,  29. 

t  There  is,  however,  an  error  in  the  record,  which  was  probably  copied  by 
Trumbull,  (see  Kingsley,  77.)  Gov.  Eaton's  death,  as  we  begin  the  year, 
was  in  January,  1658.  According  to  the  old  mode,  beginning  the  year  on  the 
25th  of  March,  it  was  in  January,  1657.  This  is  the  date  on  the  tombstone  ; 
and  it  is  confirmed  by  the  records  of  the  courts.  But  the  record  of  deaths 
says,  1656.  Perhaps  the  secretary's  eye  was  blinded  by  a  tear. 


Ill 

fairs  of  a  far  nobler  and  broader  nature,  as  having  with 
good  advantage  more  than  once  stood  before  kings,  yet  did 
he  apply  himself  to  the  mean  and  low  things  of  New  Eng- 
land, with  that  dexterity  and  humility  as  was  much  to  see, 
and  with  so  much  constancy  that  no  temptations  or  solicita- 
tions could  prevail  with  him  to  leave  his  work  and  look  back 
towards  Europe  again."  "This  man  had  in  him  great 
gifts,  and  as  many  excellencies  as  are  usually  found  in  any 
one  man :  he  had  an  excellent  princely  face  and  port,  com- 
manding respect  from  all  others :  he  was  a  good  scholar,  a 
traveler,  a  great  reader,  of  an  exceeding  steady  and  even 
spirit,  not  easily  moved  to  passion,  and  standing  unshaken  in 
his  principles  when  once  fixed  upon,  of  a  profound  judg- 
ment, full  of  majesty  and  authority  in  his  judicatures,  so  that 
it  was  a  vain  thing  to  offer  to  brave  him  out,  and  yet  in  his 
ordinary  conversation,  and  among  friends,  of  such  pleasant- 
ness of  behavior  and  such  felicity  and  fecundity  of  harmless 
wit  as  can  hardly  be  paralleled :  but  above  all  he  was  seasoned 
with  religion,  close  in  closet  duties,  solemn  and  substantial 
in  family  worship,  a  diligent  and  constant  attender  upon  all 
public  ordinances,  taking  notes  of  the  sermons  he  heard  ex- 
actly, and  improving  them  accordingly ;  in  short,  approving 
himself  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  in  faithfulness,  wis- 
dom, and  inoffensiveness  before  God  and  man."* 

In  the  same  manner,  but  with  some  touches  more  particu- 
lar and  therefore  more  instructive,  is  the  character  of  this 
good  man  described  by  Mather. 

"  As  in  his  government  of  the  commonwealth,  so  in  the 
government  of  his  family,  he  was  prudent,  serious,  happy  to 
a  wonder ;  and  albeit  he  sometimes  had  a  large  family,  con- 
sisting of  no  less  than  thirty  persons,  yet  he  managed  them 
with  such  an  even  temper,  that  observers  have  affirmed,  they 
never  saw  a  house  ordered  with  more  wisdom.  He  kept  an 
honorable  and  hospitable  table ;  but  one  thing  that  still  made 
the  entertainment  thereof  the  better,  was  the  continual  pres- 

*  Ilubbard,  329,  330. 


112 

ence  of  his  aged  mother,  by  feeding  of  whom  with  an  exem- 
plary piety  till  she  died,  he  ensured  his  own  prosperity  as 
long  as  he  lived.  His  children  and  servants  he  would  might- 
ily encourage  unto  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  counte- 
nance their  addresses  unto  himself  with  any  of  their  inquiries ; 
but  when  he  discerned  any  of  them  sinfully  negligent  about 
the  concerns  either  of  their  general  or  particular  callings,  he 
would  admonish  them  with  such  a  penetrating  efficacy,  that 
they  could  scarce  forbear  falling  down  at  his  feet  with  tears. 
A  word  of  his  was  enough  to  steer  them ! 

"  So  exemplary  was  he  for  a  Christian,  that  one  who  had 
been  a  servant  unto  him,  could  many  years  after  say,  What- 
ever difficulty  in  my  daily  walk  I  now  meet  withal,  still 
something  that  I  either  saw  or  heard  in  my  blessed  master 
Eaton's  conversation,  helps  me  through  it  all ;  I  have  reason 
to  bless  God  that  ever  I  knew  him  !  It  was  his  custom  when 
he  first  rose  in  a  morning,  to  repair  unto  his  study ;  a  study 
well  perfumed  with  the  meditations  and  supplications  of  a 
holy  soul.  After  this,  calling  his  family  together,  he  would 
then  read  a  portion  of  the  scripture  among  them,  and  after 
some  devout  and  useful  reflections  upon  it,  he  would  make  a 
prayer  not  long,  but  extraordinarily  pertinent  and  reverent; 
and  in  the  evening  some  of  the  same  exercises  were  again  at- 
tended. On  the  Saturday  morning  he  would  still  take  notice 
of  the  approaching  Sabbath  in  his  prayer,  and  ask  the  grace  to 
fee  remembering  of  it,  and  preparing  for  it ;  and  when  the 
evening  arrived,  he,  besides  this,  not  only  repeated  a  sermon, 
but  also  instructed  his  people,  with  putting  of  questions  re- 
ferring to  the  points  of  religion,  which  would  oblige  them  to 
study  for  an  answer  ;  and  if  their  answer  were  at  any  time 
insufficient,  he  would  wisely  and  gently  enlighten  their  un- 
derstanding ;  all  which  he  concluded  by  singing  a  psalm. 
When  the  Lord's  day  came,  he  called  his  family  together  at 
the  time  for  the  ringing  of  the  first  bell,  and  repeated  a  ser- 
mon, whereunto  he  added  a  fervent  prayer,  especially  tending 
unto  the  sanctification  of  the  day.  At  noon  he  sang  a  psalm, 
and  at  night  he  retired  an  hour  into  his  closet ;  advising  those 


113 

in  his  house  to  improve  the  same  time  for  the  good  of  their 
own  souls.  He  then  called  his  family  together  again,  and  in 
an  obliging  manner  conferred  with  them  about  the  things 
with  which  they  had  been  entertained  in  the  house  of  God, 
shutting  up  all  with  a  prayer  for  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
them  all.  For  solemn  days  of  humiliation,  or  of  thanksgiv- 
ing, he  took  the  same  course,  and  endeavored  still  to  make 
those  that  belonged  unto  him,  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
services  before  them.  He  seldom  used  any  recreations,  but 
being  a  great  reader,  all  the  time  he  could  spare  from  com- 
pany and  business,  he  commonly  spent  in  his  beloved 
study." 

"  His  eldest  son  he  maintained  at  the  College  until  he  pro- 
ceeded master  of  arts ;  and  he  was  indeed  the  son  of  his  vows, 
and  the  son  of  great  hopes.  But  a  severe  catarrh  diverted 
this  young  gentleman  from  the  work  of  the  ministry,  where- 
to his  father  had  once  devoted  him ;  and  a  malignant  fever 
then  raging  in  those  parts  of  the  country,  carried  off  him 
with  his  wife  within  two  or  three  days  of  one  another.* 
This  was  counted  the  sorest  of  all  the  trials  that  ever  befell 
his  father  in  the  days  of  the  years  of  his  pilgrimage  ;  but  he 
bore  it  with  a  patience  and  composure  of  spirit  which  was 
truly  admirable.  His  dying  son  looked  earnestly  on  him, 
and  said,  '  Sir,  what  shall  we  do  ?'  Whereto,  with  a  well- 
ordered  countenance,  he  replied,  '  Look  up  to  God !'  And 
when  he  passed  by  his  daughter  drowned  in  tears  on  this 
occasion,  to-  her  he  said,  '  Remember  the  sixth  command- 
ment, hurt  not  yourself  with  immoderate  grief;  remember 
Job,  who  said,  The  Lord  hath  given,  and  the  Lord  hath  ta- 
ken away,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.  You  may 
mark  what  a  note  the  Spirit  of  God  put  upon  it ;  in  all  this 
Job  sinned  not,  nor  charged  God  foolishly :  God  accounts  it 
a  charging  him  foolishly,  when  we  don't  submit  unto  him 
patiently.'  Accordingly  he  now  governed  himself  as  one  that 
had  attained  unto  the  rule  of  weeping  as  if  he  wept  not ;  for 
it  being  the  Lord's  day,  he  repaired  unto  the  church  in  the 

*  See  Kingsley,  76. 

15 


114 

afternoon,  as  he  had  been  there  in  the  forenoon,  though  he 
was  never  like  to  see  his  dearest  son  alive  any  more  in  this 
world.  And  though  before  the  first  prayer  began,  a  mes- 
senger came  to  prevent  Mr.  Davenport's  praying  for  the  sick 
person,  who  was  now  dead,  yet  his  affectionate  father  altered 
not  his  course,  but  wrote  after  the  preacher  as  formerly,  and 
when  he  came  home  he  held  on  his  former  methods  of  di- 
vine worship  in  his  family,  not  for  the  excuse  of  Aaron,  omit- 
ting any  thing  in  the  service  of  God.  In  like  sort,  when  the 
people  had  been  at  the  solemn  interment  of  this  his  worthy 
son,  he  did  with  a  very  impassionate  aspect  and  carriage  then 
say,  '  Friends,  I  thank  you  all  for  your  love  and  help,  and  for 
this  testimony  of  respect  unto  me  and  mine  :  the  Lord  hath 
given,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord.'  Nevertheless,  retiring  hereupon  into  the  chamber 
where  his  daughter  then  lay  sick,  some  tears  were  observed 
falling  from  him  while  he  uttered  these  words,  '  There  is  a 
difference  between  a  sullen  silence  or  a  stupid  senselessness 
under  the  hand  of  God,  and  a  child-like  submission  there- 
imto.' 

"  Thus  continually  he,  for  a  score  of  years,  was  the  glory 
and  pillar  of  New  Haven  colony."* 

When  the  day  arrived  for  the  election  of  a  new  Governor, 
Mr.  Davenport  preached  the  election  sermon  from  the  first 
words  in  the  book  of  Joshua,  "Now  after  the  death  of  Moses 
the  servant  of  the  Lord,  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Lord  spake 
to  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  Moses's  minister,  saying,  Moses, 
my  servant  is  dead,  now  therefore  arise,  go  over  this  Jordan, 
thou  and  all  this  people."  The  unanimous  choice  of  the 
electors  fell  upon  Francis  Newman,  who  having  been  for 
many  years  Secretary  of  the  colony,  and  one  of  the  bench  of 
Magistrates,  had  thus  stood  as  a  minister  to  their  Moses,  and 
had  been  trained,  from  his  youth  up,  by  the  instruction,  ex- 
ample, and  intimate  friendship  of  that  eminent  "  servant  of 
the  Lord."  His  time  however,  in  this  office,  was  less  than 


*  Magn.  II,  27,  23.     Some  other  particulars  will  be  given  in  the  Appendix, 
No.  IX. 


115 

two  years.  At  the  court  of  Magistrates,  October  17,  1660, 
the  Governor  was  unable  to  take  his  seat  ;  and  the  record 
was  made,  that  "  By  reason  of  the  afflicting  hand  of  God  on 
New  Haven  by  much  sickness,  the  Court  could  not  pitch  up- 
on a  day  for  public  thanksgiving  through  the  colony,  for  the 
mercies  of  the  year  past,  and  did  therefore  leave  it  to  the 
elders  of  the  church  at  New  Haven,  as  God  may  be  pleased  to 
remove  his  hand  from  the  Governor  and  others,  to  give  notice 
to  the  rest  of  the  plantations,  what  day  they  judge  fit  for  that 
duty,  that  we  may  give  thanks  and  rejoice  before  the  Lord  to- 
gether." The  Governor  was  soon  so  far  recovered  from  that 
sickness,  that  the  people  "  were  comforted  with  his  presence 
in  the  public  assembly  two  Lord's  days,  and  at  one  meeting 
of  the  Church  on  a  week  day."  The  day  of  public  thanks- 
giving was  appointed  ;  and  on  that  day  also,  "  he  found  him- 
self encouraged  to  come  to  the  public  assembly."  But  that 
day  being  very  cold,  and  he  insisting  on  being  in  his  place  at 
both  services,  the  exposure  was  too  great  for  him.  On  the 
morning  of  the  next  Lord's  day,  (Nov.  18,  1660,)  when  the 
second  drum  was  beating,  "  his  precious  soul  departed  from 
the  house  of  clay,  to  the  souls  of  just  men  made  perfect." 
His  Pastor  described  him  as  "  a  true  Nathanael,  an  Israelite 
indeed,"  and  said  of  him,  "  He  honored  God  in  his  private 
conversation  and  in  his  administration  of  chief  magistracy  in 
this  colony,  and  God  hath  given  him  honor  in  the  hearts  of 
his  people,"  "recompensing  his  faithfulness  with  his  living 
desired  and  dying  lamented."* 

Mr.  Davenport  was  now  becoming  an  old  man.  Twenty 
two  years  had  passed  over  him  in  this  country.  The  men 
of  his  generation  in  the  ministry,  were  fast  disappearing. 
Hooker  of  Hartford,  Cotton  of  Boston,  Shepard  of  Cambridge, 
Bulkly  of  Concord,  and  others  who  had  been  with  him  the 
greater  lights  in  the  New  England  churches,  were  gone, 

"Mather,  Magn.  11,29.  Colony  Records.  Davenport's  Letters.  From 
the  Town  Records,  it  appears  that  the  town  provided  Gov.  Newman  with 
a  house  which  he  was  to  occupy  while  he  continued  to  be  Governor.  The 
inventory  of  his  estate  amounted  to  only  £430  2s.  Id. 


116 

Among  those  who,  like  him,  had  planted  churches  in  this 
Colony,  Prudden  of  Milford  had  deceased  ;  Whitfield  of 
Guilford  had  returned  to  England.  Another  generation  of 
ministers,  educated  in  America,  to  whom  he  was  as  one  of 
the  ancients,  was  beginning  to  occupy  the  scene  of  action. 
From  this  Church,  his  colleague  in  the  ministry  of  the  word, 
Hooke,  and  his  helper  in  government,  Robert  Newman,  had 
both  returned  to  their  native  country ;  and  though  another 
good  man,  (the  Rev.  Nicholas  Street,)  was  helping  him  in 
the  pulpit,  the  office  of  ruling  elder  was  still  vacant,  and  has 
never  since  been  filled.  Nearly  every  one  of  those  who  had 
been  originally  the  most  distinguished  and  valued  members 
of  his  flock,  was  gone  :  and  the  interests  of  the  community 
were  committed  to  other  hands.  Yet,  though  encompassed 
with  discouragements,  the  shadows  still  lengthening  upon 
his  path  as  the  sunset  of  life  was  approaching,  he,  like  the 
great  poet  his  cotemporary,  would  not 

"  bate  a  jot 

Of  heart  or  hope,  but  still  bore  up,  and  steered 
Right  onward." 

Even  in  his  old  age,  he  was  found  struggling  with  unweari- 
able  zeal  to  establish  a  college  in  New  Haven,  "  for  the  good 
of  posterity."  It  was  in  the  year  1660,  that  he  made  his 
greatest  efforts  for  this  object.  Then  it  was  that,  reinforced 
with  the  legacy  of  Governor  Hopkins,  he  appeared  before  the 
General  Court  to  lay  by  his  solemn  act  the  foundation  of  a 
college,  and  entreated  them  "  not  to  suffer  this  gift  to  be  lost 
from  the  colony,  but,  as  it  becometh  fathers  of  the  Common- 
wealth, to  use  all  good  endeavors  to  get  it  into  their  hands, 
and  to  assert  their  right  in  it  for  the  common  good ;  that  pos- 
terity might  reap  the  good  fruit  of  their  labors,  and  wisdom, 
and  faithfulness  ;  and  that  Jesus  Christ  might  have  the  ser- 
vice and  honor  of  such  provision  made  for  his  people." 

How  admirable  is  that  true  nobleness  of  soul  which 
studies  and  labors  "  for  the  good  of  posterity  !"  How  beau- 
tiful in  vigorous  and  ardent  youth !  How  venerable  in  old 
age! 


DISCOURSE   VII. 

JOHN  DAVENPORT  IN  HIS  OLD  AGE,  THE  PROTECTOR  Or  THE 
REGICIDES,  THE  OPPONENT  OF  UNION  WITH  CONNECTICUT, 
THE  CHAMPION  OF  THE  OLD  WAY  AGAINST  THE  SYNOD  OF  1662. 

ISAIAH,  xvi,  3, 4. — Take  counsel,  execute  judgment,  make  thy  shadow  as  the 
night  in  the  midst  of  the  noonday;  hide  the  outcasts,  bewray  not  him  that 
wandereth.  Let  mine  outcasts  dwell  with  thee ;  Moab,  be  thou  a  covert  to 
them  from  the  face  of  the  spoiler. 

EXAMINING  the  records  of  the  town,  we  occasionally  find 
Mr.  Davenport  taking  an  active  part  in  town  meetings.  The 
manner  in  which  his  name  is  introduced,  is  sometimes  such 
as  implies  that  he  did  not  ordinarily  attend  upon  such  assem- 
blies. Yet  whenever  any  thing  was  done  or  proposed  res- 
pecting schools  for  the  town,  or  the  setting  up  of  a  college, 
we  are  sure  to  find  that  he  was  present,  and  had  something 
to  say  in  the  way  of  urging  forward  the  cause  of  education. 
So  when  any  subject  was  introduced  which  had  an  imme- 
diate connection  with  the  interests  of  religion  and  of  religious 
institutions,  we  frequently  find  him  engaged  in  the  discus- 
sion. One  instance  of  this  may  be  here  introduced,  as  illus- 
trating his  principles  and  character. 

At  a  town  meeting, — or  as  it  was  called  in  those  days,  a 
general  court  for  the  town,— -on  the  28th  of  February,  1659, 
a  request  was  made  by  the  farmers  of  what  is  now  East  Ha- 
ven and  North  Haven,  for  certain  grants  of  lands  and  privi- 
leges in  order  to  the  establishment  of  villages,  so  that  they 
maintaining  public  worship  and  other  town  expenses  by 
themselves,  should  not  be  taxed  for  such  expenses  here,  and 
should  have  the  power  of  taxing  all  the  lands  within  their 
limits  whether  belonging  to  themselves  or  to  non-residents. 
Their  application  was  of  course  resisted  on  the  ground  that 
this  setting  off  of  new  parishes  would  increase  the  town's 
taxes,  and  would  diminish  the  ability  of  the  people  to  sup- 


118 

port  the  ministry  here.  It  was  obvious  that  the  inhabitants 
on  this  side  of  the  river  had  an  immediate  "pecuniary  inter- 
est against  the  petition.  The  petitioners  seem  to  have 
thought — reasonably  enough — that  by  having  such  privileges 
and  forming  distinct  parishes,  each  with  a  village  at  its  cen- 
ter, they  would  not  only  be  relieved  from  the  very  serious 
inconvenience  of  coming  into  town  every  Lord's  day,  and 
every  training  day  or  town  meeting  day ;  but  would  be  able 
to  give  more  value  to  their  lands,  and  to  get  a  more  compe- 
tent subsistence.  They  seem  to  have  considered  themselves 
as  reduced  to  the  necessity  either  to  give  up  their  scattered 
residences  on  the  farms,  and  to  come  into  the  town  and  live  as 
they  might,  or  else  to  form  themselves  into  separate  villages 
according  to  their  proposal.  The  proposal  seems  to  have 
been  something  like  an  effort  on  the  part  of  a  body  of  men 
of  inferior  condition,  to  obtain  such  a  change  as  would  put 
them  more  completely  on  a  level  with  the  merchants  and 
capitalists  in  the  town.  One  of  the  farmers  said,  "  it  was 
well  known  that  at  the  first  they  were  many  of  them  looked 
upon  as  mean  men  to  live  by  their  labor ;  therefore  they  had 
at  first  small  lots  given  them  ;  but  they  finding  by  experience 
that  they  could  not  in  that  way  maintain  their  families,  they 
were  put  upon  looking  out."  He  further  argued  "  that,  when 
the  town  gave  them  these  lots,  it  was  upon  condition  they 
should  inhabit  upon  them  ;"  and  that  having  in  compliance 
with  that  condition  invested  their  property  there  in  buildings 
and  improvements,  they  had  a  right  to  such  additional  privi- 
leges as  were  necessary  to  their  comfortable  subsistence. 

On  this  occasion,  Mr.  Davenport  took  the  lead  in  the  dis- 
cussion. He  addressed  the  meeting  immediately  after  the 
proposal  had  been  stated  ;  and  in  opposition  to  what  most 
would  regard  as  the  town's  pecuniary  interest  in  the  case,  in 
opposition  to  the  feeling,  how  shall  the  support  of  the  ministry 
here  be  secured,  and  in  opposition  to  the  natural  reluctance 
with  which  towns  as  well  as  individuals  give  up  any  particle 
of  power,  he  argued  strenuously  for  the  extension  of  these 
privileges  to  the  farmers.  His  arguments  are  so  characteris- 


119 

tic,  not  only  of  his  piety,  but  of  his  good  sense  and  of  his 
political  wisdom,  that  they  are  worth  repeating  at  length,  as 
we  find  them  on  the  records. 

"  The  business  they  were  exercised  about,  being  of  great 
weight  both  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the  good  of  posterity, 
he  therefore  desired  that  it  might  be  weightily  considered. 

"  If  we  look  to  God,  it  is  that  his  kingdom  may  come  and 
be  set  up  among  us,  and  that  his  will  may  be  done.  Now 
if  we  provide  not  for  the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath,  the 
will  of  God  will  not  be  done.  The  law,  he  said,  was  ex- 
pressed Levit.  xxiii,  3,  •'  Six  days  shall  work  be  done,  but 
the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  rest;  a  holy  convocation, 
ye  shall  do  no  work  therein,  it  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  in 
all  your  dwellings."  This  law  was  not  proper  to  the  land  of 
Canaan,  but  a  brief  repetition  of  the  fourth  commandment, 
which  requires  that  we  should  sanctify  the  Sabbath  as  a  day 
of  holy  rest.  Now  in  this  way  of  farms  at  such  a  distance,  it 
cannot  be  kept  as  a  holy  convocation,  and  as  a  day  of  holy 
rest  in  all  our  dwellings.  Therefore  we  shall  live  in  the 
breach  of  the  fourth  commandment  in  this  way. 

"  Besides,  there  are  other  things  to  be  attended  (as  they 
ought  to  be)  in  a  well  ordered  commonwealth  ;  particularly, 
to  use  all  due  means  to  prevent  sin  in  others,  which  cannot 
be  done  in  this  way  ;  for  many  great  abominations  may  be 
committed,  and  bring  the  wrath  of  God  on  the  plantation  ; 
like  the  secret  fact  of  Achan, — for  which,  wrath  came  upon 
the  whole  congregation  of  Israel,  because  they  used  not  what 
means  they  might  to  prevent  it ;  therefore  could  they  not 
prosper  when  they  went  against  the  men  of  Ai.  Therefore, 
would  we  prosper,  let  us  prevent  sin  what  we  can  in  the 
farms.  If  they  were  brought  into  a  village  form,  there 
might  be  some  officer  to  look  to  civil  order.  But  that  being 
not  done,  he  saw  not  but  that  we  are  in  continued  danger  of 
the  wrath  of  God,  because  we  do  not  what  we  may  for  the 
prevention  of  disorders  that  may  fall  out  there. 

"  And  besides  this,  we  are  to  look  to  the  good  of  posterity. 
Now  it  is  a  sad  object  to  consider,  how  they  are  deprived  of 


120 

the  means  for  the  education  of  their  children.  But  if  they 
were  reduced  to  villages,  they  might  then  have  one  to  teach 
their  children. 

"  Mr.  Davenport  farther  said,  Let  there  be  no  divisions  or 
contentions  among  you.  But  let  every  one,  with  some  self- 
denial,  set  himself  to  further  the  work  so  as  may  be  for  the 
good  both  of  the  town  and  the  farms.  He  said  he  sought 
not  the  destruction  of  the  town  or  farms.  But  in  his  judg- 
ment, he  thought,  if  the  town  fall  into  a  way  of  trade,  then 
the  villages  might  be  helpful  to  the  town,  and  the  town  to 
the  villages.  And  if  the  town  did  not  consider  of  some  way 
to  further  trade  [that  is,  not  only  buying  and  selling,  but  the 
production  of  commodities  to  be  bought  and  sold,]  how  they 
would  subsist  he  saw  not.  He  further  said,  he  did  like  it 
well  that  there  had  been  some  consultations  about  a  mill," — 
which — "  if  God  prosper  it,  may  be  a  furtherance  of  trade. 
And  if  it  please  God  to  bless  the  iron  work,  that  may  be  also 
a  foundation  for  trade.  Now  put  all  these  together ; — the 
town  falling  into  a  way  of  trade  will  be  in  a  better  state,  and 
the  villages  accommodated  ;  and  the  honor  of  God  in  the 
sanctification  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  upholding  of  civil  order 
will  be  provided  for. 

"  Mr.  Davenport  farther  said,  that  he  looked  upon  it  as  a 
merciful  hand  of  God  that  his  wrath  hath  not  broke  out 
against  us  more  than  it  hath,  when  sin  hath  not  been  pre- 
vented at  the  farms  as  it  might  have  been.  Let  us  now, 
said  he,  set  our  thoughts  a- work  how  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
may  be  settled  among  us,  and  that  the  will  of  God  may  be 
done  in  the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath,  by  reducing  the 
farms  into  villages.  But  herein  we  must  go  above  sense  and 
reason.  Lay  this  foundation,  Doth  God  require  it  ?  If  he 
doth,  then  here  we  must  exercise  faith ;  as  the  Jews, — how 
they  should  be  supplied,  being  God  had  commanded  that  ev- 
ery seventh  year  their  land  should  rest, — and  for  safety,  when 
at  the  commandment  of  God  all  their  males  must  thrice  in  the 
year  appear  before  the  Lord  at  Jerusalem.  Yet  we  must 
make  use  of  reason  and  understanding  that  it  may  be  done  in 


121 

such  a  way  as  may  be  for  the  good  both  of  the  town  and  of 
the  farms.  And  the  Lord  guide  you  in  it." 

By  this  argument  of  Mr.  Davenport's,  the  subject  was  in- 
troduced, and  the  discussion  opened.  All  the  veneration 
with  which  the  people  regarded  their  pastor  did  not  pre- 
vent the  free  expression  of  objections.  Among  others, 
Sergeant  Jefleries,  while  he  professed  himself  "  marvellous 
willing  the  villages  should  go  on,"  thought  it  was  "  to  be  con- 
sidered whether  villages  will  not  wrong  the  town  much,"  and 
suggested,  furthermore,  "  that  the  ministry  of  the  colony  was 
much  unsettled,*  which  is  a  great  discouragement  to  such  a 
work."  "  To  which  Mr.  Davenport  answered,  that  Christ 
holds  the  stars  in  his  right  hand,  and  disposes  of  them  as 
seems  good  to  him.  But  this  we  must  know,  that  if  we 
obey  not  the  voice  of  the  prophets,  God  will  take  away  the 
prophets.  He  further  said,  If  we  build  God's  house,  God 
will  build  our  house.  He  exhorted  to  consider  whether  it 
be  our  duty  or  not,  and  said  that  unless  we  look  upon  it  as  a 
duty,  he  would  never  advise  to  go  about  villages,  nor  any 
thing  else  of  that  nature." 

All  this,  I  say,  shows  us  the  character  of  the  first  pastor 
here,  and  the  sort  of  influence  which  he  exerted  in  the  com- 
munity. His  great  concern  was  that  Christ's  kingdom  might 
be  set  up  here,  that  God's  will  might  be  done,  and  that  to 
this  all  the  arrangements  of  the  commonwealth  might  tend. 
Sin,  which  when  not  duly  restrained,  brings  God's  wrath  up- 
on communities  as  upon  individuals,  was  that  which  of  all 
things  he  most  feared.  To  him  the  good  of  posterity  as  de- 
pendent on  education,  was  the  greatest  of  public  interests. 
The  thought  that  any  of  the  people  were  deprived  of  means 
for  the  education  of  their  children,  affected  him  with  sadness. 
His  influence  made  men  feel  that  the  surest  way  to  prosper, 
was  to  be  ever  doing  God's  work,  and  to  have  all  our  inter- 
ests identified  with  the  prosperity  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

*This  was  in  Feb.,  1659.  The  Church  in  Milford  was  then  vacant  by  the 
death  of  Mr.  Prudden,  in  1656.  Mr.  Higginson  left  Guilford  in  1659. 

16 


122 

Yet  his  piety  was  not  inconsistent  with  the  most  sagacious 
policy.  Even  when  he  would  have  men  "  go  above  sense  and 
reason,"  and  "  exercise  faith,"  he  would  nevertheless  have 
them  "  make  use  of  reason  and  understanding"  to  ascertain 
and  promote  the  public  welfare.  His  comprehensive  mind, 
which  his  piety  enlarged  instead  of  contracting,  formed  in 
itself  the  idea  which  we  now  behold  set  forth  in  the  happy 
reality ;  a  manufacturing  and  commercial  town  here ;  rural 
municipalities  filling  the  country  around  ;  and  town  and 
country  each  free  from  subjection  to  the  other,  yet  mutually 
dependent,  and  ministering  to  each  other's  prosperity. 

To  the  stranger  passing  through  New  England,  and  be- 
coming acquainted  with  the  peculiarities  of  our  social  condi- 
tion and  of  our  civil  polity,  nothing  is  more  striking,  or  more 
admirable,  than  the  continual  succession  of  villages,  each  with 
its  neat  white  spire,  its  school  houses,  its  clusters  of  com- 
fortable dwellings,  its  own  municipal  rights  and  regulations, 
and  each  vieing  with  its  neighbor  villages  in  order,  thrift,  and 
beauty.  In  other  parts  of  the  country,  where,  New  England 
influence  not  having  predominated  at  the  beginning,  the 
forms  of  society  are  not  molded  after  ours,  you  see  a  succes- 
sion of  broad  farms,  with  many  a  pleasing  indication  of  pros- 
perous industry ;  but  the  villages  are  only  at  the  "  county 
seat,"  or  where  the  exigencies  of  business  create  them. 
New  England  is  a  land  of  villages,  not  of  manufacturing 
villages  merely,  or  trading  villages,  but  of  villages  formed  for 
society,  villages  in  each  of  which  the  meeting  house  is  the 
acropolis.  The  reasons  of  this  peculiarity  appear  from  that 
argument  of  Mr.  Davenport's  which  I  have  just  recited. 
These  villages  were  created — not  as  many  have  supposed  for 
defense  alone,  else  why  did  not  the  same  reason  cause  villa- 
ges in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia — but  first  that  the  worship 
of  God  might  be  maintained,  and  his  Sabbaths  be  duly 
honored ;  secondly,  that  the  people  might  have  schools  for 
all  their  children  ;  "thirdly,  that  they  might  maintain  among 
themselves  the  most  efficient  civil  order  ;  and  fourthly,  that 
instead  of  living,  each  planter  in  solitary  independence,  they 


123 

might  live  in  mutual  dependence  and  mutual  helpfulness, 
arid  might  thus  develop  more  rapidly  and  effectually  the  nat- 
ural resources  of  the  country. 

In  the  year  1660,  when  monarchy  was  restored  in  Eng- 
land, many  who  had  acted  prominently  in  the  revolution 
which  had  thus  suddenly  gone  backward,  were  obliged  to 
flee  for  their  lives.  Some  fled  to  different  countries  on  the 
continent  of  Europe  ;  some  sought  a  retreat  in  the  obscurity 
of  the  American  settlements ;  and  some,  not  making  their 
escape  betimes,  died  by  the  tortures  and  hideous  mutilations 
which  the  barbarity  of  the  English  law  inflicted  upon  those 
whom  it  condemned  as  traitors.  Among  those  who  came  to 
New  England,  were  three  of  the  men  who  acted  as  judges 
in  the  trial  of  King  Charles  I.  and  who  feared  not  to  sign  the 
death-warrant  of  a  king  found  guilty  of  treason  against  his 
people.  Two  of  these,  Edward  Whalley  and  William  Goffe, 
who,  in  consequence  of  the  rank  they  had  held  in  the  armies 
of  the  Parliament,  and  in  the  commonwealth  of  England, 
were  especially  obnoxious  to  the  restored  king  and  to  his 
triumphant  partisans,  arrived  at  Boston  on  the  27th  of  July, 
1660,  in  the  same  ship  which  brought  the  first  news  of  the 
king's  restoration. 

Whalley  was  closely  connected  with  Cromwell  by  kin- 
dred, as  well  as  by  the  tie  of  a  common  political  interest. 
He  was  the  colonel  of  that  regiment  of  cavalry  in  the  Par- 
liament's army,  in  which  Richard  Baxter  was  chaplain  ;  and 
between  him  and  the  author  of  the  Saint's  Rest,  there  was 
an  intimate  friendship,  not  only  while  Baxter  continued  in 
the  army,  but  afterwards  when  Whalley  had  become,  under 
the  protectorate  of  his  cousin  Cromwell,  one  of  the  chief  of- 
ficers of  the  empire.  To  him,  in  token  of  their  continued 
friendship,  Baxter  dedicated  one  of  his  works,  in  an  epistle 
which  is  among  the  most  beautiful  examples  of  that  kind  of 
composition.  Alluding  to  the  honors  which  then  clustered 
upon  the  head  of  the  veteran  warrior,  he  said,  "  Think  not 
that  your  greatest  trials  are  now  over.  Prosperity  hath  its 
peculiar  temptations  by  which  it  hath  foiled  many  that  stood 


124 

unshaken  in  the  storms  of  adversity.  The  tempter  who  hath 
had  you  on  the  waves,  will  now  assault  you  in  the  calm,  and 
hath  his  last  game  to  play  on  the  mountain  till  nature  cause 
you  to  descend.  Stand  this  charge,  and  you  win  the  day."* 
How  beautiful  the  prediction,  but  how  short  sighted  ! 

Goffe  was  the  son-in-law  of  Whalley,  and  like  him,  hav- 
ing distinguished  himself  in  the  army,  in  which  he  rose  to 
the  rank  of  Major  General,  he  became  a  member  of  Crom- 
well's House  of  Lords,  and  was  one  of  the  principal  support- 
ers of  the  Cromwell  dynasty.  So  eminent  was  he,  that  it 
was  thought  by  some  that  he  might  in  time  become  the  head 
of  the  empire. 

When  these  men  arrived  in  Boston  with  the  news  of  the 
king's  restoration,  they  were  at  first  received  with  undis- 
guised attention  by  the  Governor  of  that  Colony,  and  the 
principal  inhabitants.  For  some  time  they  resided  openly 
at  Cambridge,  where  they  attended  public  worship,  and  were 
active  in  private  religious  meetings,  and  were  received  to  oc- 
casional communion  in  the  church  by  virtue  of  letters  which 
they  brought  from  the  churches  in  England,  with  which  they 
had  been  previously  connected.  As  they  became  personally 
known,  they  were  greatly  respected  for  their  piety,  as  well 
as  for  their  talents  and  intelligence.  It  was  hoped  that  in 
so  distant  a  part  of  the  world  as  this,  they  would  escape  the 
notice  of  their  enemies ;  and  the  first  rumors  that  followed 
them  from  England,  gave  some  confirmation  to  the  hope. 
Bat  in  November  the  act  of  indemnity  arrived,  which  se- 
cured all,  with  certain  exceptions,  against  being  called  in 
question  for  any  thing  which  they  had  done  against  the  gov- 
ernment since  the  beginning  of  the  civil  wars ;  and  it  ap- 
peared that  these  two  men,  with  many  others,  were  excepted 
from  the  general  pardon.  Still,  however,  compassion  and 
friendship  prevented  the  government  of  Massachusetts  from 
taking  any  measures  to  arrest  them.  On  the  22d  of  Febru- 
ary, 1661,  the  governor  called  his  council  together,  to  con- 
sult about  seizing  them  ;  but  the  council,  not  having  yet 

*  Baxter's  Practical  Works,  (Orme's  ed.)  I,  453. 


125 

received  any  special  order  on  that  subject,  refused  to  do  any 
thing.  Four  days  after  this,  the  two  regicide  judges,  fore- 
seeing that  a  warrant,  or  order  for  their  arrest,  must  soon 
arrive  from  England,  and  that  Gov.  Endicott  and  their  other 
friends  there  would  in  that  case  be  unable  to  protect  them, 
left  Cambridge,  and  passing  through  Hartford,  where  they 
were  hospitably  received  by  Gov.  Winthrop,  arrived  at 
New  Haven  on  the  7th  of  March.  Almost  immediately  after 
their  leaving  Cambridge,  and  before  they  had  reached  this 
place,  the  king's  proclamation,  denouncing  them  as  convicted 
traitors,  was  received  at  Boston ;  and  thereupon  a  warrant 
was  issued  by  the  government  there,  and  a  search  was  made 
at  Springfield  and  other  places,  where  they  were  sure  not  to 
find  them. 

Here  the  people  were  prepared  to  receive  them  and  to 
stand  by  them.  Mr.  Davenport  in  a  long  series  of  sermons 
from  the  words  of  the  prophet  in  Lam.  iii,  24,  "  The  Lord  is 
my  portion,  saith  my  soul,  therefore  will  I  hope  in  him," — 
had  been  inculcating  on  his  flock  the  duty  and  the  safety  of 
confidence  in  God ;  and  having  considered  that  hope  in  va- 
rious relations,  had  dwelt  particularly  on  its  operation  in 
establishing  and  strengthening  the  heart  against  all  discoura- 
ging, distrustful  fears  "of  evil  times,  when  all  things  are 
turned  upside  down,  and  the  mountains,  princes  and  great 
potentates,  render  themselves  terrible  to  the  Church  and  peo- 
ple of  God,  and  the  profane  multitude  rage  against  them  like 
the  roaring  of  the  waters,  and  they  can  have  no  rest  in  their 
dwellings."  Under  this  topic,  he  had  exhibited  the  discour- 
aging aspect  of  the  protestant  cause,  the  cause  of  truth  and 
religion  and  liberty,  as  it  then  was  in  various  parts  of  Europe, 
touching  cautiously  but  significantly  upon  the  state  of  affairs 
in  their  native  country,  from  which  tidings  more  and  more 
painful  were  daily  to  be  expected. 

He  had  proceeded  to  teach  them  more  particularly  what 
disposition  of  spirit  was  necessary  to  qualify  them  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  confidence  in  God  amid  such  fears,  and  how,  by 
what  acts  and  efforts,  their  hope  in  God  was  to  manifest  itself 


126 

in  those  days  of  deep  depression.  "  Whosoever,"  said  he, 
"  would  have  and  exercise  this  hope  in  reference  to  the  pub- 
lic state  of  the  afflicted  churches  of  Christ ;  they  must  have 
and  exercise  public  spirits  in  the  communion  of  saints" — 
"  must  take  to  heart  the  public  state  of  the  churches  and 
Christ's  interest  in  them,  whatever  their  own  private  condi- 
tion is ;  and  must  prefer  the  public  concernments  before  and 
above  their  own  private,  in  their  judgments,  affections,  and 
endeavors."  "  The  saints  of  old,"  said  he,  "could  not  be 
satisfied  with  their  own  private  welfare,  if  the  church  of 
of  God  was  in  affliction  and  danger,  or  under  reproach." 
"  When  there  hath  been  a  double  affliction  upon  them,  both 
public  and  private,  the  public  hath  swallowed  up  the  private, 
and  made  it  inconsiderable  in  comparison."  "  When  they 
have  had  a  double  opportunity  of  doing  or  procuring  good, 
to  the  public,  and  to  their  own  private,  they  have  preferred 
the  public  advantage  to  their  own  private  interest."  How 
do  their  examples,  said  he,  "  shame  most  Christians  in  these 
days,  who,  if  their  garners  may  be  full,  their  sheep  multiply, 
their  oxen  be  strong  to  labor,  their  sons  be  as  plants  grown 
up,  and  their  daughters  polished  and  set  forth  with  ornaments, 
and  there  be  no  complaining  in  the  streets,  think  themselves 
happy,  and  regard  not  what  becomes  of  religion,  and  of 
Christ's  cause  and  interest  in  the  churches  ;  they  take  not  to 
heart  the  afflictions  of  God's  people,  if  their  trading  increase  ; 
one  good  bargain  will  more  comfort  them  than  all  the  calami- 
ties of  the  church  can  grieve  them  ;  they  can  hear  and  speak 
of  the  breaches  and  ruins  of  Zion,  as  the  Athenians  did  of 
news,  without  remorse  or  regard.  Brethren,  it  is  a  weighty 
matter  to  read  letters  and  receive  intelligence  in  them  con- 
cerning the  state  of  the  Churches.  You  had  need  to  lift  up 
your  hearts  to  God,  when  you  are  about  to  read  your  letters 
from  our  native  country,  to  give  you  wisdom,  and  hearts  duly 
affected,  that  you  may  receive  such  intelligences  as  you 
ought ;  for  God  looks  upon  every  man,  in  such  cases,  with 
a  jealous  eye.  observing  with  what  workings  of  bowels  they 
read  or  speak  of  the  concernments  of  his  Church."  "  Christ," 


127 

he  said,  "  will  look  on  them  as  his  enemies  that  disown  his 
cause  and  people  at  such  times,  as  he  saith,  He  that  is  not 
with  me  is  against  me.  Are  the  people  and  ways  of  God 
under  reproach  ?  Christ  is  reproached  in  them  and  with  them. 
Ah  !  but  they  are  called  fools  and  fanatics !  I  answer,  When 
was  it  otherwise  ?" 

Having  shown  how  godliness  had  been  hated  and  scoffed 
at  in  other  ages,  he  went  on  to  say,  "  The  present  tempta- 
tion of  this  time,  in  the  other  afflictions  of  the  Churches,  is 
the  reproachful  titles  put  upon  the  people  of  God,  whom  pro- 
fane men  call  fanatics.  But  if  he  is  a  fool  that  will  be 
laughed  out  of  his  right,  much  more  is  he  a  fool  and  a  mad 
man  that  will  suffer  himself  to  be  laughed  out  of  heaven,  that 
will  hazard  the  loss  of  his  soul,  and  salvation,  to  free  himself 
from  the  mocks  and  scoffs  of  a  profane  and  sinful  world.  If 
Christ  had  not  for  our  sakes  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  we  could  never  have  been  redeemed  and  saved ;  <  let 
us  go  forth  therefore  to  him,  without  the  camp,  bearing  his 
reproach.'  The  Christian  Hebrews  are  exhorted  to  call  to 
remembrance  the  former  days  in  which,  after  they  were  illu- 
minated, they  endured  a  great  fight  of  afflictions,  partly 
whilst  they  were  made  a  gazing  stock  both  by  reproaches 
and  afflictions,  and  partly  whilst  they  became  companions  of 
them  that  were  so  used.  (Heb.  x,  32,  33.)  Let  us  do  like- 
wise, and  own  the  reproached  and  persecuted  people  and 
cause  of  Christ  in  suffering  times." 

Kindling  as  he  proceeded^  he  left  his  hearers  no  room  to 
misunderstand  him.  He  came  out  boldly  with  what  might 
have  passed  in  England  for  treason.  "  Withhold  not  coun- 
tenance, entertainment,  and  protection,  from  such,  if  they 
come  to  us  from  other  countries,  as  from  France  or  England 
or  any  other  place.  Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers, 
for  thereby  some  have  entertained  angels  unawares.  Re- 
member them  that  are  in  bonds,  as  bound  with  them,  and 
them  who  suffer  adversity  as  being  yourselves  also  in  the 
body.  (Heb.  xiii,  2,  3.)  The  Lord  required  this  of  Moab, 
saying,  '  Make  thy  shadow  as  the  night  in  the  midst  of  the 


128 

noon-day  ;' — that  is,  provide  safe  and  comfortable  shelter  and 
refreshment  for  my  people  in  the  heat  of  persecution  and  op- 
position raised  against  them ; — '  hide  the  outcasts,  bewray  not 
him  that  wandereth  :  let  mine  outcasts  dwell  with  thee, 
Moab  ;  be  thou  a  covert  to  them  from  the  face  of  the  spoiler.' 
(Isaiah  xvi,  3,  4.)  Is  it  objected,  But  so  I  may  expose  my- 
self to  be  spoiled  or  troubled  ?  He,  therefore,  to  remove  this 
objection,  addeth,  '  For  the  danger  is  at  an  end,  the  spoiler 
cease th  ;  the  treaders  down  are  consumed  out  of  the  land.' 
While  we  are  attending  to  our  duty  in  owning  and  harbor- 
ing Christ's  witnesses,  God  will  be  providing  for  their  and 
our  safety,  by  destroying  those  that  would  destroy  his  people." 
This  was  certainly  intelligible.  But  he  went  on  to  arm 
their  minds  still  more  for  the  expected  crisis.  "  Two  helps 
I  shall  propound  to  arm  you  against  those  fears  of  reproach, 
or  dangers,  whereby  men  are  apt  to  be  drawn  to  flinch  from 
the  cause  and  witnesses  of  Christ  in  suffering  times.  First, 
strengthen  your  faith.  A  sight  of  the  invisible  God,  and  an 
eye  to  the  recompense  of  reward,  so  quickened  and  strength- 
ened the  faith  of  Moses,  that  '  he  chose  rather  to  suffer  afflic- 
tion with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
sin  for  a  season  ;  esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt.'  (Heb.  xi,  25,  26.)" 
Secondly,  "  Exalt  God  as  the  highest  object  of  your  fear. 
Fear  God  as  he  ought  to  be  feared — fear  him  above  all.  The 
greater  fear  will  expel  the  lesser.  Therefore  the  Lord  pre- 
scribes this  fearing  him  aright,  as  the  best  remedy  against  all 
carnal  fears,  whereby  men  are  wont  to  be  hindered  from  obey- 
ing God  in  those  duties  that  will  expose  men  to  hurt  from  the 
creature.  (Isa.  viii,  12,  13.  li,  7,  8,  12,  13.  So  doth  Christ 
in  Mat.  x,  28. )  The  balking  of  any  duty  which  God  com- 
mandeth,  is  the  ready  way  to  bring  upon  you,  by  the  wrath 
of  God,  that  very  evil  which  you  fear  that  the  doing  of  your 
duty  will  expose  you  to  by  the  wrath  of  men."* 

*  Saints'  Anchor-Hold,  178 — 201.     There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  the 
original  and  the  truth  of  the  tradition  recorded  by  Stiles,  (History  of  Judges, 


129 

By  such  appeals  and  arguments  were  the  people  of  New 
Haven  prepare  J  to  receive  the  regicides  with  kindness,  and 
to  protect  them  in  the  face  of  the  king's  displeasure.  The 
regicides  themselves  had  special  reasons  to  expect  the  most 
friendly  treatment  here.  The  sister  of  Gen.  Whalley,  Mrs. 
Hooke,  had  long  resided  here,  her  husband  being  for  twelve 
years  Mr.  Davenport's  colleague  here  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  Mr.  William  Jones,  whose  father  within  a  few 
weeks  after  their  departure  from  England,  had  suffered  death 
for  the  same  act  for  which  they  were  thus  hunted  through 
the  wilderness,  and  who  having  married  in  London  the 
youngest  daughter  of  the  late  Gov.  Eaton,  had  recently 
come  to  this  country,  was  here,  and  ready  to  show  them 
all  kindness  for  his  father's  sake.* 

At  first  "  the  Colonels,"  as  they  were  commonly  called, 
showed  themselves  here  openly  as  they  had  done  at  Boston  ; 
so  that  their  persons,  their  danger,  and  the  part  they  had 
acted,  were  well  known  to  the  whole  community.  It  was 
reported,  that  on  a  training  day  they  said  expressly,  in  the 
presence  of  the  whole  military  company,  that  if  they  could 
have  but  two  hundred  men  to  follow  them,  they  would  not 
fear  to  stand  against  all  their  enemies  in  Old  England,  and 
in  New.  But  after  some  twenty  days,  the  news  of  the 
king's  proclamation  against  them  having  arrived,  they  were 

32,)  that  "about  the  time  the  pursuers  came  to  New  Haven,  and  perhaps  a 
little  before,  and  to  prepare  the  minds  of  the  people  for  their  reception,  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Davenport  preached  publicly  from  this  text, — Isa.  xvi,  3,  4. 
Take  counsel,  execute  judgment,  make  thy  shadow  as  the  night,"  &c.  The 
Saints'  Anchor-Hold  is  declared  in  the  title  page  to  have  been  "  preached 
in  sundry  sermons."  Dr.  Stiles  appears  not  to  have  seen  the  book ;  nor  do  I 
find  any  allusion  to  it  by  others  who  have  touched  upon  the  history  of  the 
regicide  Judges.  The  book  was  printed  at  London,  in  1661,  with  a  preface 
by  William  Hooke  and  Joseph  Caryl.  It  contains  231  pages,  small  duode- 
cimo. The  only  copy  which  I  have  heard  of  belongs  to  one  of  the  descend- 
ants of  the  author,  Mrs.  Whelpley,  and  is  mutilated  with  the  loss  of  here 
and  there  a  leaf.  If  it  were  perfect,  a  new  edition  should  be  published. 

*  Kingsley,  76.  The  tradition  that  Mr.  Jones  came  over  in  the  same  ship 
with  the  regicides,  is,  I  suspect,  unwarranted.  Dr.  Stiles  says  he  "came 
over  in  the  fall  of  1660."  (Stiles,  69.)  His  name  first  appears  on  the  town 
records,  Feb.  25,  1661. 

17 


130 

under  the  necessity  of  concealing  themselves.  To  do  this 
more  effectually,  they  went  as  far  as  Milford,  and  took  pains 
to  be  seen  there,  as  if  they  were  proceeding  towards  the 
Dutch  settlement  at  Manhadoes  ;  but  immediately  returned 
to  this  place  under  cover  of  the  night,  and  were  received 
by  Mr.  Davenport,  in  whose  house  they  were  hid  for  more 
than  a  month,  when  they  removed  across  the  street  to  Gov. 
Eaton's  house,  then  occupied  by  Mr.  Jones. 

Near  the  last  of  April,  an  express  mandate  from  the  king, 
was  received  by  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  requiring 
him  to  cause  the  traitors  Whalley  and  Gotfe,  to  be  seized. 
The  whole  country  was  alarmed  ;  and  Massachusetts,  feel- 
ing that  she  had  much  to  account  for  in  the  matter,  and  that 
her  all  was  in  jeopardy,  seems  now  to  have  been  in  earnest 
to  apprehend  them,  and  to  make  peace  by  giving  them  up  as 
victims.  Accordingly,  the  Governor  and  council  at  Boston, 
gave  a  commission  to  two  zealous  young  royalists  just  from 
England,  to  go  through  the  colonies,  as  far  as  Manhadoes,  in 
pursuit  of  them. 

On  the  llj,h  of  May,  these  pursuers,  Thomas  Kellond  and 
Thomas  Kirk,  arrived  at  the  house  of  Deputy  Governor 
Leete  in  Guilford,  who  was  then  acting  as  chief  magistrate 
of  the  jurisdiction,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  Gov.  New- 
man a  few  months  before.  Gov.  Leete  read  their  letters, 
and  the  copy  which  they  brought  of  the  king's  mandate,  but 
showed  no  great  alacrity  in  promoting  their  object.  He  as- 
sured them  that  he  had  not  seen  the  men  in  several  weeks, 
and  that  they  were  probably  gone  out  of  the  jurisdiction. 
The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath  ;*  and  by  one  hindrance  and 
another,  the  pursuers  were  detained  at  Guilford  till  the  morn- 
ing of  the  13th,  when,  at  the  break  of  day,  they  started  for 
New  Haven,  with  a  letter  from  Gov.  Leete  to  Mr.  Gilbert,  the 
magistrate  of  this  place,  advising  him  to  call  the  town  court 

*  This  is  a  circumstance  not  mentioned  by  any  of  the  authorities,  but  ascer- 
tained by  calculation.  "  The  king's  business  required  haste,"  yet  the  pur- 
suers, while  under  Gov.  Leete's  jurisdiction,  must  rest  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
"  according  to  the  commandment." 


131 

together,  and  by  their  advice  and  concurrence  to  cause  a 
search  to  be  made.  Early  as  they  started,  it  appears  that 
some  one  else  left  Guilford  before  them,  in  the  night,  and 
arrived  here  in  time  to  give  information  that  they  were  com- 
ing. They  found  the  magistrate  not  at  home  ;  but  on  the 
arrival  of  the  Governor  himself  some  two  hours  after  them, 
with  the  magistrate  of  Branford,  whom  he  had  brought  with 
him.  on  the  principle  that  in  many  counsellors  there  is  safety, 
a  long  consultation  was  held  in  the  court  room.  The  pur- 
suers insisted  that  the  regicides  were  hid  in  some  of  the 
houses  in  this  town,  and  that  all  their  information  pointed 
particularly  to  the  houses  of  Mr.  Dave'nport  and  Mr.  Jones ; 
and  they  demanded  of  the  Governor  a  warrant  to  search  for 
them.  The  Governor  and  magistrates,  on  the  other  hand, 
maintained  that  "the  Colonels"  had  gone  towards  Manha- 
does  ;  and  in  truth,  whatever  suspicions  and  fears  they  might 
have,  they  knew  nothing  of  their  concealment.  As  for  the 
warrant  which  was  demanded,  they  had  constitutional  and 
legal  scruples  ;  for  Gov.  Leete  was  educated  a  lawyer.  The 
Governor  told  the  two  pursuers,  that  he  could  not  and  would 
not  make  them  magistrates  of  this  jurisdiction,  as  he  should 
do  if  he  were  to  invest  them  with  power  to  enter  men's 
houses  and  search  for  criminals.  Besides,  the  king's  mandate 
which  they  brought  with  them,  appeared  to  be  addressed  to 
the  Governor  of  Massachusetts  as  if  he  were  Governor  of  all 
New  England,  and  to  others  only  as  subordinate  to  him ;  and 
the  magistrates  feared  that  by  acting  under  such  a  mandate 
they  might  acknowledge  a  governor-general,  and  might  thus 
be  guilty  of  betraying  the  trust  committed  to  them,  under 
oath,  by  the  people,  from  whom  alone  they  derived  their 
power.  When  the  pursuers  asked  the  magistrates  whether 
they  would  honor  and  obey  the  king  in  this  affair,  the  Gov- 
ernor replied,  "We  honor  his  Majesty,  but  we  have  tender 
consciences."  When  they  urged  again  the  same  considera- 
tion, and  demanded  to  know  whether  they  would  own  his 
Majesty  or  not,  the  answer  was  given,  that  they  would  first 
know  whether  his  Majesty  would  own  them.  So  in  the 


132 

end,  after  much  consideration  and  delay,  "  the  case  being 
weighty,"  "  it  was  resolved  to  call  the  general  court  for  ths 
effectual  carrying  on  of  the  work."  Meanwhile  the  gentlemen 
from  England  were  urged  not  to  retard  their  own  business 
by  waiting  on  the  proceedings  of  the  authorities  of  the  juris- 
diction ; — a  suggestion  which  implied  that  if  they  had  a 
commission  from  the  king  which  gave  them  the  power  of 
searching,  they  might  proceed  to  execute  it  at  their  own  risk ; 
and  that  if  their  commission  was  not  sufficient  for  such  pur- 
pose, they  had  better  go  where  their  commission  carried 
them. 

The  pursuers  accordingly  made  such  search  as  they  dared 
to  make  in  the  circumstances  ;  they  obtained  full  proof  that 
the  regicides  had  been  seen  at  Mr.  Davenport's  ;  they  offered 
great  reward  to  Indians  and  Englishmen  for  such  information 
and  aid  as  should  enable  them  to  accomplish  their  object ; 
they  threatened  Mr.  Davenport  with  the  well  known  penal- 
ties of  the  law  for  concealing  and  comforting  traitors; -but 
they  were  unsuccessful ;  and  after  a  day  or  two  they  went 
on  towards  the  Hudson  river,  and  thence  returned  by  water 
to  Boston.  On  the  17th  of  May,  which  was  only  two  or 
three  days  after  their  departure,  the  general  court  assembled  ; 
and  after  expressing  many  "  wishes  that  a  search  had  been 
sooner  made,"  gave  order  "  that  the  magistrates  take  care 
and  send  forth  the  warrant,  that  a  speedy,  diligent  search  be 
made  throughout  the  jurisdiction,"  and  "  that  from  the  sev- 
eral plantations  a  return  be  made  that  it  may  be  recorded." 
The  order  was  carried  into  effect  ;  a  search  was  made 
throughout  the  colony,  but  the  fugitives  were  not  found. 

Meanwhile  the  hunted  men  were  at  various  places  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  New  Haven.  On  the  day  on  which 
the  pursuers  arrived  at  Guilford,  (May  11,)  they  left  their  con- 
cealment at  the  house  of  Mr.  Jones,  and  found  refuge  during 
the  Sabbath  in  the  mill  near  West  Rock  ;*  thence  on  the 
13th,  the  day  on  which  the  pursuers  came  to  New  Haven, 

*  The  site  of  that  mill  is  now  occupied  by  the  Manufactory  of  Blake  & 
Brothers. 


133 

they  went  into  the  woods,  and  were  conducted  by  some 
tmsty  friends  to  a  hiding  place  now  included  within  the 
bounds  of  Woodbridge,  which  afforded  them  lodgings  for 
two  nights.  On  the  15th  of  May  they  removed  to  the  cave 
on  the  side  of  West  Rock,  which  was  their  residence  till  the 
llth  of  June,  while  the  whole  colony  was  searched  to  find 
them.  They  were  informed  of  all  that  was  doing  ;  they 
stood  ready  to  surrender  themselves  rather  than  that  any 
body  should  suffer  on  their  account ;  and  at  last,  knowing 
Mr.  Davenport's  danger,  they  left  their  refuge  and  came  into 
town  to  deliver  themselves  up  to  the  authorities  here.  They 
ventured  to  be  seen  here  so  publicly,  as  to  clear  Mr.  Daven- 
port from  the  suspicion  of  still  concealing  them.  They 
caused  information  to  be  conveyed  in  some  way  to  Gov. 
Leete,  that  they  were  ready  to  surrender  if  it  was  necessary, 
but  he  did  nothing  towards  commencing  such  a  treaty  ;  and 
the  next  day  they  were  informed  by  some  of  their  friends, 
that  there  was  no  occasion  for  so  desperate  a  measure.  After 
this,  they  retired  again  to  their  cave,  and  continued  there  and 
in  similar  places  till  the  19th  of  August,  when,  it  being  gen- 
erally supposed  that  they  had  made  their  escape  to  parts  un- 
known, they  came  into  the  center  of  Milford,  and  obtained  a 
lodging  place  in  a  house  there,  in  which  they  continued  in  the 
most  perfect  seclusion  for  several  years.  In  October,  1664, 
they  removed  to  Hadley,  in  Massachusetts,  where  the  minister 
of  the  place,  Mr.  Russell,  had  made  arrangements  to  receive 
them  ;  and  under  his  roof  they  rested  for  the  remainder  of 
their  days. 

I  have  repeated  these  details,  because  they  illustrate  the 
character  generally  of  the  first  colonists  of  New  Haven,  and 
especially  because  they  show  in  so  striking  a  light  the  char- 
acter of  Mr.  Davenport.  I  know  not  what  incident  in  history 
exhibits  a  more  admirable  combination  of  courage  and  adroit- 
ness, of  fidelity  to  friendship,  of  magnanimity  in  distress,  and 
of  the  fearless  yet  discreet  assertion  of  great  principles  of  lib- 
erty, than  can  be  found  in  this  simple  story  of  the  protection 
of  the  regicides  by  the  men  of  New  Haven.  And  what  gives 


134 

to  all  the  rest  a  higher  dignity,  is  the  fact  that  the  courage 
which  feared  not  the  wrath  of  the  king,  was  not  fool-hardi- 
ness or  passion,  but  faith  in  God  who  bade  them  hide  the 
outcasts,  and  be  a  covert  to  them  from  the  face  of  the  spoiler. 
The  rude  munition  of  rocks  that  sheltered  the  fugitives  when 
they  were  chased  into  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  is  a  mon- 
ument more  eloquent  than  arch  or  obelisk.  Till  the  moun- 
tains shall  melt,  let  it  bear  the  inscription,  "  Opposition  to 
tyrants  is  obedience  to  God."* 

In  the  year  1662,  the  people  of  Connecticut  obtained  from 
King  Charles  II,  by  the  agency  of  their  Governor  Winthrop, 
a  charter  with  the  amplest  privileges,  which  was  designed 
to  comprehend  that  colony  and  New  Haven  under  one  juris- 
diction. In  the  negotiations  which  followed,  Mr.  Davenport, 
contrary  to  his  ordinary  practice,  took  a  leading  part.  He 
was  strongly  and  conscientiously  opposed  to  the  union  with 
Connecticut.  He  believed  that  the  constitution  of  the  civil 
state  here,  was  more  according  to  the  mind  of  God,  and  bet- 
ter adapted  to  the  great  ends  of  government  than  any  other 
in  the  world  ;  and  he  thought  that  the  constitution  provided 
by  the  Connecticut  charter  contained  no  sufficient  safeguard 
for  the  liberty  and  purity  of  the  churches.  Fearing  such  an 
arrangement,  he  had  obtained  from  Gov.  Winthrop  before  he 
sailed  to  procure  the  charter,  a  promise  that  New  Haven 
should  not  be  included  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  its  people. 
The  Connecticut  people,  however,  immediately  on  receiv- 
ing the  charter  which  Gov.  Winthrop  sent  them,  took  meas- 
ures, some  of  them  altogether  unjustifiable,  to  bring  the  New 
Haven  colony  under  their  jurisdiction.  New  Haven  entered 
into  the  conflict  under  serious  disadvantages  ;  for  even  before 

*  The  story  of  the  regicide  judges  is  given  by  Hutchinson,  (I,  213J  with 
documents.  (Ill,  334,  338,  344,  432.)  Stiles  has  added  the  records  and  tradi- 
tions of  New  Haven.  His  authorities  are  worth  more  than  his  reasonings. 
Some  other  documents  are  found  in  III  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  vii,  123.  When- 
ever the  life  of  Gov.  Leete  shall  be  written,  a  letter  from  John  Norton  to 
Richard  Baxter  should  be  consulted,  in  Reliquia?  Baxterianse,  Part  II,  292. 

The  inscription  cited  above,  was  placed  upon  the  "  Judges'  cave,"  by  a 
modern  hand. 


135 

the  coming  over  of  the  charter,  there  existed  in  this  colony, 
and  particularly  in  the  remote  towns,  a  party  violent  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  government  here  established. 

The  first  distinct  intimation  of  the  approaching  crisis,  was 
in  May,  1662,  when  the  legislature,  "  not  knowing  what  im- 
portant affairs  may  happen  respecting  this  colony  between 
the  session  of  this  and  the  next  general  court,"  voted  that  if 
any  thing  extraordinary  should  arise,  "  the  Governor  being 
immediately  informed  thereof,  should  repair  to  New  Haven, 
and  there  consult  and  advise  with  the  magistrates  and  elders 
of  that  place  and  of  Branford  what  is  fit  and  safe  to  be  done 
in  such  an  exigency,"  calling  in  if  necessary  the  magistrates 
of  Milford,  or  of  any  other  town.  The  Governor,  with  the 
magistrates  thus  convened,  were  empowered  to  act  according 
to  the  exigency,  "  upon  the  concurrent  advice  of  two  or  more 
of  the  elders,"  provided  they  "  proceed  not  to  treat  or  con- 
clude any  thing  that  may  have  tendency  to  change  of 
the  present  government,  without  a  General  Court  be  first 
called." 

Before  the  session  of  the  Court  of  Magistrates  in  the  Octo- 
ber following,  the  expected  charter  of  Connecticut  had  arri- 
ved ;  and  when  the  Court,  according  to  usage,  appointed  the 
23d  of  the  month  as  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving  for  the 
mercies  of  the  year,  it  was  also  ordered  "  that  the  29th  of  this 
month  be  kept  as  a  day  of  extraordinary  seeking  of  God  by 
fasting  and  prayer  for  his  guidance  of  the  colony  in  this 
weighty  business  about  joining  with  Connecticut  colony,  and 
for  the  afflicted  state  of  the  Church  and  people  of  God  in 
our  native  country  and  in  other  parts  of  the  world." 

Two  days  after  that  day  of  fasting,  the  records  of  the 
town  show  us  a  meeting  of  the  freemen  at  which  a  copy  of 
the  charter  was  exhibited,  together  with  a  writing  from  some 
gentlemen  of  Connecticut,  signifying  that  they  looked  upon 
New  Haven  as  being  within  their  bounds.  Mr.  Davenport, 
and  his  colleague  Mr.  Street,  were  both  present.  Mr.  Dav- 
enport appears  to  have  addressed  the  meeting  at  great  length. 
He  stated  some  important  facts,  illustrating  the  haste,  unkind- 


136 

ness,  and  arrogance,  with  which  their  brethren  of  the  other 
colony  had  proceeded  in  the  matter.  He  showed  what 
pledges  he  had  received  from  Mr.  Winthrop,  that  so  unright- 
eous an  act  should  not  be  attempted.  He  went  into  an  ar- 
gument to  prove,  first,  that  New  Haven  was  not  of  course  in- 
cluded under  the  charter,  and  secondly,  that  New  Haven  ought 
not  voluntarily  to  enter  into  such  a  union  ;  and  he  concluded 
by  giving  directions  as  to  the  answer  that  should  be  returned 
to  the  men  of  Connecticut,  "  that  they  may  see  their  evil  in 
what  they  have  done,  and  restore  us  to  our  former  state,  that 
so  we  and  they  may  live  together  in  unity  and  amity  for  the 
future."  Mr.  Street  followed  in  the  debate  ;  he  declared  that 
he  looked  upon  Mr.  Davenport's  arguments  as  unanswerable  ; 
he  thought  "  that  both  Church  and  town  had  cause  to  bless 
God  for  the  wisdom  held  forth  in  them  ;"  he  exhorted  the 
freemen  "  to  keep  the  ends  and  rules  of  Christ  in  their  eye, 
and  then  God  would  stand  by  them  ;"  and  he  concluded  by 
seconding  Mr.  Davenport's  directions  respecting  an  answer, 
"  with  one  scripture  out  of  Isaiah  xiv,  32,  [What  shall  one 
then  answer  the  messengers  of  the  nation  ? — that  the  Lord 
hath  founded  Zion,  and  the  poor  of  his  people  shall  trust  in 
it ;]  and  from  thence  did  advise  that  the  answer  should  be  of 
faith  and  not  of  fear."  The  decision  of  the  meeting,  after  a 
full  debate,  was  in  accordance  with  the  advice  thus  given. 

Four  days  afterwards,  the  freemen  of  the  whole  colony 
were  convened  at  New  Haven,  not  by  delegation,  but  in  full 
assembly.  To  that  convention,  Gov.  Leete  submitted  the 
communication  which  had  been  received  from  Connecticut, 
and  the  brief  reply  which  had  been  made  by  the  committee 
appointed  by  the  last  General  Court.  These  writings  hav- 
ing been  read,  together  with  the  copy  of  the  charter,  the 
Governor  called  the  attention  of  the  meeting  to  the  two  dis- 
tinct points  which  the  communication  from  Connecticut  pre- 
sented for  their  consideration,  namely,  the  claim  that  the 
charter  necessarily  included  them  and  that  they  Avere  there- 
fore bound  to  submit,  and  the  invitation  to  a  voluntary  and 
peaceful  union.  After  this,  that  the  people  might  have  time 


137 

for  consideration,  the  assembly  was  dismissed  for  an  hour  and 
a  half,  "  then  to  meet  again  at  the  beat  of  the  drum."  When 
the  meeting  was  again  opened,  Mr.  Davenport  was  called 
upon  by  the  Governor  to  express  his  views.  Mr.  Davenport 
"  said  that,  according  to  this  occasion,  he  should  discharge 
the  duty  of  his  place,"  and  proposed  to  "  read  to  them  his 
own  thoughts,  which  he  had  set  down  in  writing,  and  which 
he  desired  might  remain  his  own  till  they  [the  freemen  of 
the  colony,]  should  be  fully  satisfied  in  them  ;"  for  he  would 
leave  others  to  walk  according  to  the  light  which  God  should 
give  them  in  this  business."  Accordingly  he  read  some  rea- 
sons why  the  people  of  Connecticut  ought  not  to  construe 
their  charter  as  including  New  Haven  colony,  and  why  New 
Haven  might  not  voluntarily  join  with  Connecticut, — and 
then  retired,  leaving  his  written  thoughts  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  assembly.  The  Governor  carefully  abstained 
from  giving  any  opinion ;  but  urged  the  freemen  to  speak 
their  minds,  that  the  substance  of  the  answer  might  proceed 
from  them.  After  the  matter  had  been  "  largely  debated," 
the  substance  of  the  answer  was  agreed  upon  ;  and  it  was 
determined  that  the  points  of  the  reply  should  be,  first,  a 
"  due  witness-bearing  against  the  sin"  of  Connecticut  in  in- 
vading their  independence  ;  next,  a  demand  that  till  Mr. 
Winthrop  should  return,  or  till  they  should  otherwise  obtain 
satisfaction,  the  whole  matter  should  be  deferred,  and  the 
jurisdiction  of  New  Haven  be  permitted  to  proceed  without 
interruption;  and  thirdly,  a  resolution  to  do  nothing  without 
taking  advice  from  the  other  confederated  colonies.  A  com- 
mittee including  all  the  magistrates  and  elders  was  appointed 
to  prepare  such  an  answer,  and  to  forward  it  to  the  authori- 
ties of  Connecticut.  The  "  answer  of  the  freemen,  drawn 
up  into  form  by  the  committee,"*  bears  strong  marks  of  the 
workmanship  of  Mr.  Davenport. 

The  correspondence  thus  begun  between  the  two  colonies 
was  continued  through  several  years,  while  Connecticut  was 

*  The  reader  will  find  it  in  Trumbull,  1,515. 
18 


138 

gaining  strength  by  steady  encroachment,  and  New  Haven, 
at  first  the  weaker  party,  was  gradually  weakened  by  defec- 
tions, and  by  the  increasing  burthens  which  the  controversy 
occasioned.  The  great  body  of  the  people  here  loved  their 
independence  and  their  own  peculiar  polity.  The  ends  for 
which,  said  they,  "  we  left  our  dear  native  country,  and  were 
willing  to  undergo  the  difficulties  which  we  have  since  met 
with  in  this  wilderness,  yet  fresh  in  our  remembrance,"  were 
"  to  advance  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  to 
enjoy  the  liberties  of  the  gospel  in  purity  with  peace  ;"  and 
these  are  "the  only  ends  we  still  pursue,  having  hitherto 
found  by  experience  so  much  of  the  presence  of  God  with 
us,  and  of  his  goodness  and  compassion  towards  us  in  so 
doing,  for  these  many  years."  To  these  ends  their  peculiar 
institutions  seemed  in  their  judgment  best  adapted.  To 
them  their  little  republic  seemed  as  near  a  perfect  model  of  a 
Christian  commonwealth,  as  could  be  in  this  world  of  imper- 
fection. Cato  in  his  "  little  senate"  at  Utica,  standing  against 
the  power  of  Caesar,  for  the  ancient  constitution  of  his  coun- 
try, was  actuated  by  no  sentiment  higher  or  more  admirable 
than  that  which  actuated  them.  In  all  the  negotiations  of  that 
crisis  the  influence  of  Mr.  Davenport  is  conspicuous.  The 
numerous  letters  and  remonstrances  in  which  the  claims  of 
New  Haven  were  argued,  bear  the  stamp  of  his  mind.  Their 
clearness  in  the  statement  of  the  case,  their  cogency  in  the 
argument,  their  dignity  of  manner,  with  slight  occasional 
manifestations  of  sarcastic  humor,  and  the  simple  piety  that 
breathes  so  naturally  through  them  all,  indicate  him  as  the 
author.* 

It  was  not  till  January  5th,  1665,  that  this  controversy  was 
concluded  by  the  unanimous  submission  of  New  Haven  to 
the  claims  of  Connecticut.  This  result  was  brought  about 

*  These  papers  were  published  by  Trurabull,  with  only  one  exception. 
The  one  which  Trumbull  did  not  publish  will  be  found  (what  remains  of  it) 
in  the  Appendix,  No.  X.  The  venerable  historian  has  given  the  story  of  the 
extinction  of  the  New  Haven  colony  with  much  accuracy  and  particularity. 
Trnmb.  I,ch.  12. 


139 

by  a  new  danger,  which  was  beginning  to  threaten  the  com- 
mon interests  of  New  England.  The  king  had  undertaken 
to  erect  provinces  in  New  England  for  his  brother,  the  Duke 
of  York,  and  had  given  him,  besides  other  territories,  Long 
Island,  and  all  the  land  from  the  west  side  of  Connecticut 
river  to  the  east  side  of  Delaware  Bay.  A  naval  and  mili- 
tary force  was  sent  over  to  subdue  the  Dutch  settlements ; 
and  with  that  force  came  four  commissioners,  one  of  them  a 
papist,  and  another  an  old  and  bitter  enemy  of  New  Eng- 
land, clothed  with  extraordinary  powers,  to  visit  the  several 
colonies,  to  hear  and  determine  all  matters  of  complaint  and 
controversy  among  them,  and  to  settle  the  country  in  peace. 
Before  such  a  court,  if  New  Haven  should  plead  for  exemp- 
tion from  the  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut,  it  would  probably 
have  no  better  effect  than  to  aid  in  subjecting  them  to  the 
arbitrary  government  of  the  Duke  of  York.  They  saw  that 
farther  resistance,  if  not  absolutely  hopeless,  would  jeopard 
not  only  their  own  interests,  but  the  common  interests  of  all 
the  colonies,  and  the  interests  of  truth  and  liberty.  Some, 
even  in  the  face  of  this  danger,  thought  at  first,  "  that  to 
stand  as  God  hath  kept  us  hitherto  is  our  best  way ;"  but 
they  had  too  much  wisdom  to  maintain  the  conflict  in  obsti- 
nacy or  passion.  Mr.  Davenport  himself,  though  probably  as 
much  averse  to  the  measure  as  any  other  person,  appears  to 
have  yielded  to  the  necessity,  and  was  one  of  the  committee 
for  consummating  the  union. 

The  principal  reason  of  Mr.  Davenport's  strenuous  and  pro- 
tracted opposition  to  this  union,  was,  his  expectation  that  it 
would  have  an  unfavorable  bearing  on  the  purity  of  the 
Churches,  and  thus  on  the  prosperity  of  religion.  In  the 
Connecticut  colony  the  Churches  had  always  been  more  sub- 
ject to  legislative  intermeddling  than  in  New  Haven.  In 
that  colony,  too,  as  in  Massachusetts,  there  was  a  growing 
party  which  demanded  a  new  standard  of  qualifications  for 
admission  to  church  membership.  The  demand  was  that  all 
baptized  persons  not  positively  scandalous  in  their  lives, 
should  be  recognized  as  church  members,  and  that  their 


140 

children  in  turn  should  be  admitted  to  baptism.  The  synod 
from  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  in  1657,  against  which 
New  Haven  had  remonstrated  beforehand,  agreed  upon  such 
answers  to  the  questions  submitted  to  them,  as  accorded  with 
the  views  of  the  innovating  party ;  but  the  opinions  of  that 
council  seem  to  have  had  little  immediate  effect  on  the  prac- 
tice of  the  Churches.  In  1662,  at  the  time  when  Connecti- 
cut was  beginning  to  set  up  her  claim  of  jurisdiction  over 
New  Haven,  another  synod  of  the  ministers  in  Massachu- 
setts, with  delegates  from  the  Churches,  was  held  at  Boston. 
There,  as  in  the  preceding  synod,  the  principle  prevailed, 
that  all  baptized  persons  not  convicted  of  scandalous  actions, 
are  so  far  church  members,  that  upon  acknowledging  their 
baptismal  covenant,  and  promising  an  outward  conformity  to 
it,  though  without  any  pretension  to  inward  and  spiritual  re- 
ligion, they  may  present  their  children  for  baptism.  Thence- 
forward the  "  halfway  covenant,"  as  it  was  afterwards  called, 
began  to  be  practiced  in  the  Churches. 

Against  this  innovation  Mr.  Davenport  stood  in  determined 
opposition.  He  of  course  was  not  a  member  of  the  synod ; 
but  he  sent  his  written  opinion,  which,  though  the  synod 
refused  to  hear  it  read,  was  "  generally  transcribed"  and  put 
within  the  reach  of  the  members.  His  testimony,  too,  and 
that  of  his  colleague,  against  the  decision  of  the  synod,  was 
given  in  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  with  a  pre- 
face signed  by  several  ministers,  who  were  of  the  minority 
in  the  synod,  and  who  declared  their  full  concurrence  with 
Mr.  Davenport.  In  the  ensuing  controversy  he  took  a  lead- 
ing part.  Soon  after  the  result  of  the  synod  had  been  given 
to  the  world,  he  published  an  elaborate  reply,  which  was  ac- 
companied with  a  long  argumentative  preface  by  Increase 
Mather,  then  a  young  man,  and  with  a  brief  appendix  from 
the  pen  of  Mr.  Street,  the  teacher  of  this  Church.  Mr. 
Chauncey,  the  President  of  Harvard  College,  also  published 
a  reply  to  the  synod,  in  the  name  of  the  minority  who  had 
dissented  from  the  conclusions  of  that  body.  President 
Chauncey  was  answered  by  Mr.  Allen,  pastor  of  the  Church 


141 

in  Dedham  ;  Mr.  Davenport  by  Richard  Mather,  of  Dorches- 
ter. The  controversy  between  the  "  Synodists"  and  the 
"  Anti-synodists"  divided  the  whole  country.  The  question 
was  indirectly  a  question  of  politics  no  less  than  of  ecclesi- 
astical order ;  for  in  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  in  New  Haven, 
the  question  who  should  be  church  members,  involved  the 
question  who  should  partake  of  the  right  of  suffrage.  To 
Davenport,  "  gospel  rules  and  patterns"  were  the  pole-star, 
"  from  which,"  said  he,  "  the  compass  of  the  last  synod's 
conclusions  seems  to  be  varied  by  some  degrees  towards  the 
antarctic."*  The  synod  prevailed ;  but  Davenport  was  right. 
The  decay  of  piety  which  he  prognosticated,  as  the  result  of 
halfway  covenanting,  soon  began  to  be  more  and  more  visi- 
ble. The  Churches  became  gradually  more  and  more  a  part 
of  the  civil  constitution ;  and  the  effects  of  a  union  of  Church 
and  State  were  continually  more  developed. 

While  this  controversy  was  in  progress,  the  First  Church 
in  Boston  was  bereaved  of  both  its  ministers.  John  Norton, 
who  had  succeeded  John  Cotton  in  the  office  of  teacher,  died 
suddenly,  April  5,  1663 ;  and  to  his  place  the  celebrated 
John  Owen  was  invited  from  England,  and  was  on  the  point 
of  coming,  but  was  discouraged  by  the  measures  which  were 
then  in  progress  to  extinguish  the  liberties  of  New  England,  f 
John  Wilson,  who  had  been  pastor  of  that  Church  from  the 
date  of  its  organization  in  1630,  died  August  7,  1667 ;  and 
thus  that  most  considerable  and  influential  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Churches  was,  for  the  first  time,  left  without  a  minis- 
ter. Many  of  the  members  thought  that  for  such  a  Church, 
no  young  minister,  and  no  minister  educated  in  this  country, 
could  be  a  fit  pastor.  The  eyes  of  the  majority  were  turned 
towards  Mr.  Davenport,  as  by  far  the  most  distinguished  of 
the  surviving  fathers  of  New  England ;  and  accordingly  he 
was  invited  to  that  station,  on  the  24th  of  September,  1667, 

*  Hutchinson,  III,  393.  For  the  history  of  the  synod,  and  of  Mr.  Daven- 
port's connection  with  it,  see  Hubbard,  587;  Mather,  Magn.  V,  62,  77; 
Hutch.  I,  223. 

t  Hutchinson,  I,  226. 


142 

and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  convey  letters  to  him  and 
to  his  Church. 

Against  this  movement  on  the  part  of  the  First  Church  in 
Boston,  there  was,  within  that  Church,  a  strong  opposition. 
Wilson  and  Norton  had  both  been  leading  "  Synodists  ;"  and 
by  their  influence  the  Church  had  been  brought  to  adopt  in 
practice  the  decision  of  the  synod.  The  giving  of  this  call 
to  Davenport,  the  greatest  of  the  "  Anti-synodists,"  was  a 
triumph  of  the  party  which  in  that  Church  had  been  the  mi- 
nority ;  and  such  a  triumph  would  naturally  have  a  great 
effect  upon  other  Churches,  and  upon  the  politics  of  the  col- 
ony as  affected  by  the  chief  ecclesiastical  question  of  the 
day.  Opposition  on  such  grounds,  though  exhibited  in  the 
formal  "  dissent"  of  "  thirty  brethren,"  among  whom  were 
many  of  the  principal  members  "  of  that  eminent  Church," 
had  of  course  no  effect  to  discourage  so  strenuous  an  opposer 
of  the  new  practice  from  accepting  the  call. 

The  messengers  and  letters  from  Boston,  found  here  a 
much  more  unwilling  reception  from  the  Church  than  from 
the  pastor.  Mr.  Davenport  was  beforehand  inclined  to  a  re- 
moval. The  independent  jurisdiction  of  his  own  colony  had 
been  extinguished.  The  principle  that  the  trust  of  govern- 
ment and  of  electing  magistrates,  should  be  committed  to 
none  but  members  of  the  Churches, — for  which  he  had  so 
strenuously  contended,  and  which  he  regarded  as  the  only 
full  security  for  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  the  gospel  with 
its  ordinances, — was  here  given  up.  "In  New  Haven  col- 
ony," as  he  expressed  himself,  "  Christ's  interest  was  mise- 
rably lost."*  Besides,  the  great  ecclesiastical  controversy  of 
the  day  was  to  be  carried  on  and  decided  in  Massachusetts ; 
and  there,  his  personal  influence  would  bear  upon  the  contro- 
versy far  more  efficiently  than  if  he  continued  here.  Under 
the  influence  of  such  considerations,  he  determined  on  re- 
moving, notwithstanding  his  attachment  to  his  people,  and 
their  unwillingness  to  part  with  him. 

»  Hutchinson,  III,  395. 


143 

This  Church  refused  to  accept  his  resignation,  or  in  any 
way  to  consent  to  his  removal.  The  utmost  to  which  they 
could  be  brought  by  his  persuasions,  as  well  as  the  entreaties 
of  the  Church  in  Boston,  was,  that  if  he  was  determined  to 
go,  they  would  no  longer  oppose  his  determination,  though 
they  still  refused  to  take  the  responsibility  of  consenting. 
Upon  this  he  considered  himself  at  liberty  to  act  according 
to  his  own  judgment ;  and  in  1668,  probably  in  the  month 
of  April,*  just  thirty  years  after  the  commencement  of 
his  ministry  here,  he  removed  to  Boston  with  his  family. 
He  and  his  son,  with  their  wives,  were  received  into  the 
Church  at  Boston,  on  the  1 1th  of  October,!  and  his  ordina- 
tion as  pastor  there, — or,  as  we  should  say,  his  installa- 
tion,— took  place  on  the  9th  of  December.J 

His  removal  in  such  circumstances  occasioned  much  diffi- 
culty. The  minority  of  the  Church  in  Boston  charged  him 
and  the  other  elders  with  equivocation,  because  they  com- 
municated to  the  Church  only  those  parts  of  the  letters  from 
New  Haven,  which  seemed  to  imply  a  dismission,  whereas 
it  was  maintained  that  if  the  whole  had  been  read,  it  would 
have  appeared  that  there  was  no  dismission.  Several  letters 
were  written,  and  messengers  were  sent  from  that  Church  to 
this,  in  the  hope  of  prevailing  on  this  Church  "  to  declare 
their  owning  of  the  letter  sent  from  them  to  be  a  true  dis- 
mission of  Mr.  Davenport."  Of  that  correspondence  nothing 
remains  but  a  fragment  of  one  of  the  letters  from  this 
Church.  That  fragment  is  so  full  of  reverent  affection  to- 
wards their  pastor,  even  after  he  had  torn  himself  away  from 
them,  and  breathes  so  much  of  the  Christian  spirit,  that  it  is 
well  worthy  of  preservation.  "  Though  you,"  say  they, 
"judge  it  the  last  expedient  for  your  relief,  and  the  remedy 


*  A  deed  executed  by  Mr.  Davenport,  as  trustee  of  Gov.  Hopkins's 
estate,  bears  date  18th  April,  1668.  In  this  deed  he  describes  himself  as 
pastor  of  the  Church  in  New  Haven ;  yet  it  was  executed  with  the  obvious 
design  of  leaving  New  Haven. 

t  Records  of  First  Church  in  Boston. 

t  Emerson's  Hist,  of  First  Church  in  Boston,  110. 


144 

of  some  evils  growing  in  the  country,  as  also  we  might  do 
the  same,  if  we  had  nothing  before  our  eyes  but  his  accom- 
plishments and  fitness  for  high  service  to  God  in  his  Church  ; 
but  being  so  much  in  the  dark  about  his  way  in  leaving  this 
Church  and  joining  to  yours,  that  we  are  not  without  doubts 
and  fears  of  some  uncomfortable  issue,  we  therefore  cannot 
clearly  act  in  such  a  way  as  is  expected  and  desired.  We  are 
of  the  same  mind  as  when  we  returned  an  answer  to  your 
first  letter,  thus  expressing  ourselves : — We  see  no  cause  nor 
call  of  God  to  resign  our  reverend  pastor  to  the  Church  of 
Boston  by  any  immediate  act  of  ours,  therefore  not  by  a  for- 
mal dismission  under  our  hands.  It  is  our  great  grief  and  sore 
affliction,  that  we  cannot  do  for  him,  whom  we  so  highly  es- 
teem in  love  for  his  work's  sake  and  profitable  labors  among 
us,  what  is  desired,  without  wrong  to  our  consciences.  Any 
thing  that  we  have  or  are,  beside  our  consciences,  we  are 
ready  to  lay  down  at  his  feet.  Such  is  our  honorable  re- 
spect to  him,  our  love  to  peace,  our  desire  of  your  supply, 
that  we  shall  go  as  far  as  we  safely  can  in  order  to  his  and 
your  satisfaction  in  this  matter,  having  before  us  for  our  war- 
rant, Acts  xxi,  14,  'When  he  would  not  be  persuaded,  we 
ceased,  saying,  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.'  Therefore, 
to  suppress  what  we  could  say  touching  that  passage  in  our 
first  letter  whereof  such  hold  hath  been  taken,  and  what  we 
have  said  in  our  last  letter  to  you,  of  our  reverend  pastor's 
making  null  the  liberty  before  granted,  which  we  doubt  not 
we  are  able  clearly  to  demostrate,  yet  if  this  will  satisfy, 
(but  not  otherwise,)  we  are  content  to  wave  and  bury  in  si- 
lence, and  leave  both  yourselves  and  him  to  make  what  im- 
provement you  see  cause  (without  any  clog  or  impediment 
from  us  upon  that  account)  of  the  liberty  before  mentioned." 
"  As  he  hath  been  a  faithful  laborer  in  God's  vineyard  at 
New  Haven  for  many  years,  to  the  bringing  home  of  many 
souls  to  God,  and  building  up  of  many  others ;  so  it  is  and 
shall  be  our  prayer  to  God  to  lengthen  his  life  and  tranquillity 
in  Boston,  to  double  his  Spirit  upon  him,  assist  him  in  his 
work,  and  make  him  a  blessed  instrument  of  much  good  to 


145 

yourselves  and  many  others.  The  good  Lord  pardon,  on  all 
hands,  what  he  hath  seen  amiss  in  these  actings  and  motions, 
that  no  sinful  malignity  may  obstruct  or  hinder  God's  bless- 
ing upon  Churches  or  Church  administrations.  As  himself 
and  his  son  have  desired,  we  do  dismiss  unto  your  holy  fel- 
lowship Mr.  John  Davenport,  Junr.,  and  Mrs.  Davenport 
elder  and  younger,  desiring  you  to  receive  them  in  the  Lord 
as  becometh  saints,  and  imploring  Almighty  God  for  his 
blessing  upon  them  from  his  holy  ordinances  in  their  com- 
munion and  walking  with  you.  The  God  of  all  grace  sup- 
ply all  your  and  our  need,  according  to  his  riches  in  glory 
through  Jesus  Christ.  Thus  craving  your  prayers  for  us  in 
our  afflicted  condition,  we  take  our  leave,  and  rest  yours  in 
the  fellowship  of  the  gospel. 

NICHOLAS  STREET, 
in  the  name  and  with  the  consent  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  at  New  Haven."* 

Mr.  Davenport  was,  at  this  time,  more  than  seventy  years 
of  age.  What  minister  so  far  advanced  in  life,  would  now 
be  called  from  one  Church  to  another,  because  of  the  emi- 
nency  of  his  qualifications  for  usefulness  ?  When  was  there 
ever  another  such  instance  of  competition  and  controversy 
between  Churches,  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  ministry  of  one 
who,  always  an  invalid,  had  numbered  more  than  three-score 
years  and  ten  ?  How  rarely  can  you  find  a  Church  who, 
when  a  minister  has  torn  himself  away  from  them,  retain 
for  him  so  strong  and  reverent  an  affection  ? 

Those  in  the  Church  at  Boston,  who  had  protested  against 
the  call  given  to  Mr.  Davenport,  were  inflexible  in  their  op- 
position. Having  applied  in  vain  for  a  dismission,  they  sece- 
ded, and  formed  a  new  Church,  now  known  as  the  "  Old 
South  Church  in  Boston."  A  new  impulse  was  thus  given 
to  the  controversy  then  in  progress.  The  two  Churches, 


*  Wisner,  Hist,  of  Old  South  Church  in  Boston,  74.  The  date  of  the  letter, 
of  which  these  fragments  were  found  among  the  papers  of  the  Old  South 
Church,  was  "12,8,  68,"  i.  «.  12,  Oct.  1668. 

19 


146 

the  First  and  the  South,  had  no  mutual  communion,  and 
the  whole  colony  of  Massachusetts  took  sides  with  one  or 
the  other.  The  questions  about  the  recommendations  of  the 
synod,  had  become  involved  with,  and  in  a  measure  super- 
seded by,  questions  about  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Davenport  and 
the  old  Church  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  proceedings  of  the 
new  Church  and  its  adherents  on  the  other.*  It  is  not  strange 
then  that  under  his  short  ministry  in  Boston,  there  were  no 
large  additions  to  the  Church.f  Nor  did  he  succeed  in  ar- 
resting the  progress  of  the  innovation  which  he  so  greatly 
feared.  The  "  half-way  covenant"  system  prevailed  in  the 
Churches  of  New  England  for  more  than  a  century ;  and  it 
is  only  within  some  forty  years  past,  that  the  views  of  which 
Davenport  was  the  champion  in  1662,  have  triumphed. 

This  distinguished  man  died,  suddenly,  on  the  llth  of 
March,  1670;  and  was  buried  in  the  tomb  of  his  friend 
John  Cot  ton  4  Much  of  his  character  has  been  exhibited  in 
the  details  of  his  life,  which  have  been  given  ;  but  before  we 
take  our  leave  of  him,  it  may  be  useful  to  notice  a  few  traits 
more  particularly. 

From  his  early  youth  to  his  death,  he  was  devoted  to 
study.  Those  lucubrations  of  his,  which  in  London  were 
protracted  into  the  late  hours  of  the  night,  were  not  discon- 
tinued when  he  had  removed  into  a  deeper  wilderness  than 
that  which  is  now  spread  around  the  base  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Here  he  was  "  almost  continually  in  his  study 
and  family,  except  some  public  work  or  private  duty  called 
him  forth  ;"<§>  and  "he  was  so  close  and  bent  a  student  that 
the  rude  pagans  themselves  took  much  notice  of  it,  and  the 
Indian  savages  in  the  neighborhood  would  call  him,  So  big 
study  man. "j| 

*  Hubbard,  602.  Mather,  V,  82.  Hutch.  I,  270.  Wisner,  Hist,  of  Old 
South  Church,  6  and  69.  This  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  contribu- 
tions to  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  New  England. 

t  Emerson,  History  of  First  Church,  Boston,  112. 

}  Ibid.  120.  Mather,  III  56.  The  tomb  of  Cotton  and  Davenport  is  in  the 
Stone  Chapel  burial-ground. 

§  Church  Records.  ||  Mather,  Magn.  Ill,  56. 


147 

The  fruit  of  his  studies  was  manifest  in  his  sermons,  and 
in  his  published  works.  He  was  eminently  familiar  with 
the  Scriptures,  which  he  often  quoted  in  the  original  tongues, 
for  the  sake  of  exhibiting  some  delicate  shade  of  meaning, 
invisible  in  the  translation.  His  skill  in  evolving  from  the 
Scriptures  not  merely  their  historical  or  grammatical  signifi- 
cation, but  those  "  uses"  of  "  doctrine,  reproof,  correction,  and 
instruction  in  righteousness,"  for  which  "  all  Scripture  is  pro- 
fitable," showed  that  his  studies  brought  him  into  commun- 
ion, not  with  the  letter  only,  but  with  the  living  Spirit.  He 
was  a  true  master  of  the  art  of  logic,  as  it  was  taught  in 
those  days,  an  art  in  the  practice  of  which  the  mind  was 
trained  to  the  power  of  acute  discrimination  and  analysis. 
Instead  of  being — as  his  weaker  cotemporaries  were  prone  to 
be — a  slave  to  the  technicalities  of  the  art,  he  used  them  as 
easily  as  an  expert  workman  uses  the  tools  of  his  trade. 
None  in  a  debate  could  better  state  the  point  in  question  ; 
none  could  detect  more  promptly,  or  expose  more  strikingly, 
the  fallacious  statements,  or  the  inconclusive  arguments  of 
an  opponent.  His  various  stores  of  knowledge  afforded  him 
at  need,  those  ready  and  lively  illustrations  which  are  often 
more  effective  than  dry  argument  can  be.  Some  specimens 
of  a  work  in  Latin  from  his  pen,  show  that  he  used  that  lan- 
guage, not  as  many  theologians  have  used  it,  with  barbarous 
idioms,  but  with  a  degree  of  gracefulness  and  elegance.* 

I  cannot  but  conceive  of  him  as  characterized  by  great  dig- 
nity of  manners,  combined — as  true  dignity  must  ever  be — 
with  courtesy.  "  He  had  been  acquainted  with  great  men, 
and  great  things;"  he  had  seen  the  world  in  all  its  phases  ; 

*  Mather  (Magn.  Ill,  54,)  gives  several  passages  from  a  letter  to  Dury,  the 
Peace-maker,  written  by  Davenport  and  subscribed  by  all  the  ministers  in  the 
colony.  The  entire  letter  I  have  not  seen.  One  passage  is  worth  transcri- 
bing, and  if  all  our  wrangling  Doctors  had  Latin  enough  to  understand  it,  and 
grace  enough  to  act  accordingly,  it  would  be  better  for  the  Churches. 

"  Sincere  de  erroribus  judicare,  et  errores  tamen  in  fratribus  infirmis  tole- 
rare,  utrumque  judicamus  esse  Apostolicse  doctrinte  consonum.  Toleratio 
vero  fratrum  infirmorum,  non  debet  esae  absque  redarguatione,  sed  tantutn 
absque  rejectione." 


148 

and  he  appeai-s  to  have  been  always  treated  with  that  respect 
which  is  not  often  withheld  from  those  in  whom  the  honest 
self-respect  from  which  proceeds  true  dignity  of  manners,  is 
mingled  with  the  kindness  which  is  the  soul  of  courtesy.* 

His  sermons,  as  he  prepared  them  for  the  pulpit,  appear  to 
have  been,  not  discourses  fully  written  out,  after  the  manner 
now  adopted  by  the  most  accomplished  New  England 
preachers,  but  outlines  with  somewhat  extended  sketches  of 
the  leading  topics,  to  be  completed  and  enlivened  by  the 
freedom  and  fire  of  extemporaneous  utterance.  Hence  we 
can  only  very  imperfectly  judge  of  his  power  in  the  pulpit  by 
any  specimens  of  his  preaching  which  have  come  down  to  us. 
That  there  was  life  and  force  in  his  discourses,  may  be  seen 
on  almost  any  page  of  his  "  Saints'  Anchor-hold."  But  the 
testimony  of  his  cotemporaries,  is  all  that  we  have  to  tell  us 
of  what  he  actually  was  in  the  pulpit.  One  who  was  long 
acquainted  with  his  reputation,  and  who  after  his  removal  to 
Boston  must  have  often  seen  him,  says  :  He  was  "  a  person 
beyond  exception  and  compare,  for  all  ministerial  abilities ;" 
and  that  even  in  his  latest  years,  "  he  was  of  that  vivacity, 
that  the  strength  of  his  memory,  profoundness  of  his  judg- 
ment, floridness  of  his  elocution,  were  little,  if  at  all,  abated 
in  him."f  Another,  who  in  his  youth  was  the  particular 
friend  of  Davenport  the  aged,  says,  "  He  was  a  princely 
preacher.  I  have  heard  some  say,  who  knew  him  in  his 
younger  years,  that  he  was  then  very  fervent  and  vehement 
as  to  the  manner  of  his  delivery,  but  in  his  later  years  he 
did  very  much  imitate  Mr.  Cotton,  whom,  in  the  gravity  of 

*I  find  on  the  Colony  Records,  an  expression  of  Mr.  Davenport's,  which 
seems  to  me  sufficiently  characteristic  to  deserve  a  place  here.  In  the  trial 
of  a  case  of  defamation,  "  Thomas  Staplies,  of  Fairneld,  plaintiff,  Mr.  Roger 
Ludlow,  late  of  Fairneld,  defendant,"  29  May,  1654,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davenport 
were  called  by  the  plaintiff  to  testify  to  a  conversation  at  their  house,  between 
them  and  the  defendant.  In  regard  to  that  conversation,  Mr.  Ludlow  asser- 
ted "that  he  required  and  they  promised  secresy;" — to  which  Mr.  Daven- 
port replied,  that  "  he  is  careful  not  to  make  unlawful  promises,  and  when 
he  hath  made  a  lawful  promise,  he  is,  through  the  help  of  Christ,  careful  to 
keep  it." 

t  Hubbard,  602,  603. 


149 

his  countenance  he  did  somewhat  resemble.  Sic  ille  manus, 
sic  ora  ferebat."* 

Let  us  call  up  the  shade  of  our  ancient  prophet.  I  see  him 
rising  in  his  pulpit.  The  folds  of  his  gown  conceal,  in  part, 
the  slenderness  of  his  figure,  worn  thin  with  years  of  infir- 
mity. The  broad  white  bands  falling  upon  his  breast,  starched 
and  smooth, — the  black  round  cap,  from  beneath  which  a 
few  snowy  locks  show  themselves, — the  round  face  and  del- 
icate features,  which,  but  for  the  short  white  beard,  might 
seem  almost  feminine, — the  dark  bright  eye,  which  shows 
that  age  has  not  yet  dimmed  the  fire  within, — complete  the 
venerable  image.  Every  eye  is  fixed  upon  him.  He  names 
his  text.  As  he  reads  it,  all  rise  to  show  their  reverence  for 
the  "  Scripture  breathed  of  God."  After  they  have  been 
seated  again,  he  proceeds.  He  unfolds  his  text  historically 
and  critically.  He  raises  from  it  some  one  point  of  "  doc- 
trine." He  "  proves"  that  doctrine  by  an  induction  of  in- 
stances from  Scripture,  or  by  the  accumulation  of  proof-texts. 
He  illustrates  it,  shows  its  connections  with  other  truths,  and 
justifies  it  to  the  understanding,  by  "reasons"  drawn  from 
the  nature  of  things,  and  evolving  the  philosophy  of  the 
subject.  He  closes  and  applies  his  discourse  with  "  uses," 
or  inferences,  drawn  from  his  doctrine  for  "  instruction,"  or 
"comfort,"  or  "admonition,"  or  "exhortation,"  till  the  last 
sands  are  falling  in  the  hour  glass.  Meanwhile  the  listening 
congregation  knows  no  weariness.  The  weighty  thought, 
the  cogent  argument,  the  flashing  illustration,  the  strong  ap- 
peal to  affection  or  to  hope,  the  pungent  application,  the  flow 
of  soul  in  the  fervent  yet  dignified  utterance, — keep  fast  hold 
on  their  attention.  "  They  sit  under  the  shadow  of  his  doc- 
trine as  it  were  with  great  delight,  and  find  the  fruit  thereof 
sweet  to  their  taste. "f 

If  we  turn  from  the  survey  of  his  talents  and  accomplish- 
ments, his  studies  and  performances,  to  look  upon  his  heart 
in  its  moral  affections  and  habits,  it  is  not  enough  to  say  that 
he  was  a  man  of  eminent  piety.  His  religious  character  was 

*  Increase  Mather,  Magn.  HI,  10.  t  Ilubbard,  603. 


150 

marked  with  some  lineaments  particularly  worthy  of  obser- 
vation. 

Nothing  is  more  manifest  in  his  writings,  or  in  his  life,  than 
that  he  had  a  strong  sense  of  duty.  There  is  no  element  of 
human  nature  more  exalted  than  that  instinctive  recognition 
of  the  force  of  obligation,  which  no  depravity  can  entirely 
extinguish,  but  which  rises  to  its  just  ascendency  over  infe- 
rior sensibilities  only  as  it  is  quickened  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
The  sentiment  which  sees  good,  even  the  highest  good,  and 
beauty,  even  the  most  glorious  beauty,  in  doing  right — that 
sentiment  controlling  the  will,  and  shedding  its  sanctity  over 
the  thoughts  and  affections,  is  the  image,  and  in  a  sense 
the  presence,  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man.  This  is  what  we 
mean  by  the  sense  of  duty.  It  was  strong  in  the  heart  of 
our  first  pastor.  When  he  had  clearly  proved,  in  respect  to 
any  matter,  what  was  duty — what  was  the  application  of  the 
rules  of  righteousness — what  God  required — there  was  to 
him  the  end  of  the  argument.  "  Lay  this  foundation,"  said 
he,  "  doth  God  require  it  ?" 

Nearly  related  to  this  sentiment  was  his  confidence  in  God. 
Confidence  in  God  cannot  be,  where  there  is  no  controlling 
sense  of  duty ;  he  who  lives  for  selfish  ends  cannot  trust  the 
providence  of  God,  for  God's  ends  and  his  are  not  coincident. 
So  on  the  other  hand,  where  the  sentiment  of  confidence  in 
Him  who  sways  the  destinies  of  all,  is  weak,  there  the  sen- 
timent of  duty  is  weakened  in  proportion.  If  we  cannot 
trust  God,  why  should  we  concern  ourselves  with  duty  ?  If 
there  is  no  power  above  and  around  us,  to  take  care  of  us 
and  of  all,  and  to  make  truth  and  righteousness  triumph  in 
the  end,  let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die.  "  If  we 
build  God's  house,"  said  Davenport,  "  God  will  build  our 
house."  "  While  we  are  attending  to  our  duty,  God  will  be 
providing  for  our  safety." 

Habitual  communion  with  God  was  the  secret  source  of 
this  strong  practical  confidence.  "  A  young  minister*  once 

*  This  young  minister  was  probably  Increase  Mather,  whom  his  son,  in 
his  account  of  Davenport,  frequently  denominates  by  some  such  periphrasis. 


151 

receiving  wise  and  good  counsels  from  this  good  and  wise 
and  great  man,  received  this  among  the  rest,  '  that  he  should 
be  much  in  ejaculatory  prayers;  for  indeed  ejaculatory  pray- 
ers— as  arrows  in  the  hand  of  a  mighty  man,  so  are  they, — 
happy  is  the  man  that  has  his  quiver  full  of  them.'  And  it 
was  believed  that  he  himself  was  well  used  to  that  sacred 
skill  of  '  walking  with  God,'  and  '  having  his  eyes  ever  to- 
wards the  Lord,'  and  '  being  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  all  the 
day  long,'  by  the  use  of  ejaculatory  prayers  on  the  innu- 
merable occasions,  which  every  turn  of  our  lives  does  bring 
for  those  devotions.  He  was  not  only  constant  in  more  set- 
tled, whether  social  or  secret,  prayers  ;  but  also  in  the  midst 
of  all  besieging  incumbrances,  tying  the  wishes  of  his  devout 
soul  to  the  arrows  of  ejaculatory  prayers,  he  would  shoot 
them  away  to  the  heavens,  from  whence  he  still  expected 
all  his  help."* 

It  is  always  easy  to  detract  from  greatness  and  from  good- 
ness ;  for  the  greatest  minds  are  not  exempt  from  infirmity, 
and  the  purest  and  noblest  bear  some  stain  of  human  imper- 
fection. Let  others  find  fault  with  the  founders  of  the  New 
England  colonies,  because  they  were  not  more  than  human  ; 
be  it  ours  to  honor  them.  We  have  no  occasion  to  disparage 
the  wisdom  or  the  virtues  of  the  lawgivers  of  other  states 
and  nations ;  nor  need  the  admirers  of  Calvert  or  of  Penn 
detract  from  the  wisdom,  the  valor,  or  the  devotion  of  the 
fathers  of  New  England.  Not  to  Winthrop  and  Cotton,  nor 
to  Eaton  and  Davenport,  nor  yet  to  Bradford  arid  Brewster, 
belongs  the  glory  of  demonstrating  with  how  little  govern- 
ment society  can  be  kept  together,  and  men's  lives  and  prop- 
erty be  safe  from  violence.  That  glory  belongs  to  Roger 
Williams ;  and  to  him  belongs  also  the  better  glory  of  strik- 
ing out  and  maintaining,  with  the  enthusiasm  though  not 
without  something  of  the  extravagance  of  genius,  the  great 
conception  of  a  perfect  religious  liberty.  New  England  has 
learned  to  honor  the  name  of  Williams  as  one  of  the  most 


Magnalia,  III,  54. 


152 

illustrious  in  her  records :  and  his  principle  of  unlimited  reli- 
gious freedom,  is  now  incorporated  into  the  being  of  all  her 
commonwealths.  To  Penn  belongs  the  glory,  of  having  first 
opened  in  this  land  a  free  and  broad  asylum  for  men  of  every 
faith  and  every  lineage.  To  him  due  honor  is  conceded  ; 
and  America,  still  receiving  into  her  "  broad-armed  ports," 
and  enrolling  among  her  own  citizens,  the  thousands  that 
come  not  only  from  the  British  Isles,  but  from  the  Alps,  and 
from  the  Rhine,  and  from  the  bloody  soil  of  Poland, — glories 
in  his  spreading  renown.  What  then  do  we  claim  for  the 
Pilgrims  of  Plymouth — what  for  the  stern  old  Puritans  of 
the  Bay  and  of  Connecticut — what  for  the  founders  of  New 
Haven  ?  Nothing,  but  that  you  look  with  candor  on  what 
they  have  done  for  their  posterity  and  for  the  world.  Their 
labors,  their  principles,  their  institutions,  have  made  New 
England,  with  its  hard  soil  and  its  cold  long  winters,  "  the 
glory  of  all  lands."  The  thousand  towns  and  villages, — the 
decent  sanctuaries  not  for  show  but  for  use,  crowning  the  hill- 
tops, or  peering  out  from  the  valleys, — the  means  of  educa- 
tion accessible  to  every  family, — the  universal  diffusion  of 
knowledge, — the  order  and  thrift,  the  general  activity  and 
enterprise,  the  unparalleled  equality  in  the  distribution  of 
property,  the  general  happiness  resulting  from  the  diffusion 
of  education  and  of  pure  religious  doctrine, — the  safety  in 
which  more  than  half  the  population  sleep  nightly  with  un- 
bolted doors, — the  calm,  holy  Sabbaths,  when  mute  nature 
in  the  general  silence  becomes  vocal  with  praise,  when  the 
whisper  of  the  breeze  seems  more  distinct,  the  distant  water- 
fall louder  and  more  musical,  the  carol  of  the  morning  birds 
clearer  and  sweeter — this  is  New  England  ;  and  where  will 
you  find  the  like,  save  where  you  find  the  operation  of  New 
England  principles  and  New  England  influence  ?  This  is 
the  work  of  our  fathers  and  ancient  lawgivers.  They  came 
hither,  not  with  new  theories  of  government  from  the  labo- 
ratories of  political  alchymists,  not  to  try  wild  experiments 
upon  human  nature,  but  only  to  found  a  new  empire  for  God, 
for  truth,  for  virtue,  for  freedom  guarded  and  bounded  by 


153 

justice.  To  have  failed  in  such  an  attempt  had  been  glori- 
ous. Their  glory  is  that  they  succeeded. 

In  founding  their  commonwealths,  their  highest  aim  was 
the  glory  of  God  in  "  the  common  welfare  of  all."  Never 
before,  save  when  God  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  had  any 
government  been  instituted  with  such  an  aim.  They  had 
no  model  before  them,  and  no  guidance  save  the  principles  of 
truth  and  righteousness  embodied  in  the  word  of  God,  and 
the  wisdom  which  he  giveth  liberally  to  them  that  ask  him. 
They  thought  that  their  end,  "  the  common  welfare  of  all," 
was  to  be  secured  by  founding  pure  and  free  Churches,  by 
providing  the  means  of  universal  education,  and  by  laws 
maintaining  perfect  justice,  which  is  the  only  perfect  lib- 
erty. "  The  common  welfare  of  all,"  said  Davenport,  is 
that  "  whereunto  all  men  are  bound  principally  to  attend 
in  laying  the  foundation  of  a  commonwealth,  lest  posterity 
rue  the  first  miscarriages  when  it  will  be  too  late  to  redress 
them.  They  that  are  skillful  in  architecture  observe,  that 
the  breaking  or  yielding  of  a  stone  in  the  groundwork  of  a 
building,  but  the  breadth  of  the  back  of  a  knife,  will  make 
a  cleft  of  more  than  half  a  foot  in  the  fabric  aloft.  So  im- 
portant, saith  mine  author,  are  fundamental  errors.  The 
Lord  awaken  us  to  look  to  it  in  time,  and  send  us  his  light 
and  truth  to  lead  us  into  the  safest  ways  in  these  begin- 
nings."* 

Not  in  vain  did  that  prayer  go  up  to  heaven.  Light  and 
truth  were  sent ;  and  posterity  has  had  no  occasion  to  rue 
the  miscarriages  of  those  who  laid  the  "  groundwork"  of  New 
England.  On  their  foundations  has  arisen  a  holy  structure. 
Prayers,  toils,  tears,  sacrifices,  and  precious  blood,  have  hal- 
lowed it.  No  unseemly  fissures,  deforming  "  the  fabric 
aloft,"  dishonor  its  founders.  Convulsions  that  have  rocked 
the  world,  have  not  moved  it.  When  terror  has  seized  the 
nations,  and  the  faces  of  kings  have  turned  pale  at  the  foot- 
steps of  Almighty  wrath,  peace  has  been  within  its  walls, 


*  Discourse  upon  Civil  Government,  14. 

20 


154 

and  still  the  pure  incense  has  been  fragrant  at  its  altar. 
Wise  master-builders  were  they  who  laid  the  foundations. 
They  built  for  eternity. 

Among  those  truly  noble  men,  it  is  not  easy  to  name  one 
more  strongly  marked  with  bright  endowments,  and  brighter 
virtues,  or  more  worthy  to  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance, 
than  he  for  whom  the  quaint  historian  has  proposed  as  his  fit 
epitaph, 

VIVUSj    NOV-ANGLLE    AC    ECCLESLE    ORNAMENTUM, 

ET 

MORTUUS,    UTRIUSQUE    TRISTE    DESIDERIUM.* 

*  Several  letters  from  Mr.  Davenport  to  Gov.  Winthrop,  heretofore  un- 
published, will  be  found  in  the  appendix  No.  XI.  The  catalogue  of  Da- 
venport's published  works,  and  some  other  particulars  of  information  con- 
cerning him,  will  also  be  found  in  the  same  place. 


DISCOURSE    VIII. 

NICHOLAS  STREET. THE    FIRST    GENERATION    PASSING  AWAY. 

THE    ERA   OF    THE    WAR   WITH    KING    PHILIP. 

ECCLESIASTES,  i,  4. — One  generation  passeth  away,  and  another  genera- 
tion cometh. 

WHEN  Mr.  Davenport  removed  to  Boston,  he  did  not  leave 
this  Church  destitute  of  the  stated  ministry  of  the  word.  His 
colleague,  who  has  already  been  named  as  sustaining  the 
office  of  teacher,  was  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Street.  Mr.  Street 
received  his  education  in  England ;  but  at  which  of  the  uni- 
versities, if  at  either,  I  am  unable  to  ascertain.  Nor  does  it 
appear  in  what  year  he  came  into  this  country.  He  was  set- 
tled at  Taunton,  in  the  Plymouth  colony,  as  colleague  with 
Mr.  Hooke,  at  the  first  organization  of  the  Church  there, 
about  the  year  1638.  There  was  a  period  in  the  history  of 
the  Plymouth  colony — "  an  hour  of  temptation,"  as  Mather 
describes  it,  "  when  the  fondness  of  the  people  for  the  proph- 
esyings  of  the  brethren,  as  they  called  those  exercises,  that 
is  to  say  the  preachments  of  those  whom  they  called  gifted 
brethren,  produced  those  discouragements  to  their  ministers, 
that  almost  all  their  ministers  left  the  colony,  apprehending 
themselves  driven  away  by  the  insupportable  neglect  and 
contempt  with  which  the  people  treated  them."*  At  the 
commencement,  as  I  suppose,  of  "  that  dark  hour  of  eclipse," 
Mr.  Hooke  relinquished  the  office  of  pastor  in  the  Church  at 
Taunton,  and  accepted  that  of  teacher  in  the  Church  at  New 
Haven.  Twelve  years  afterwards,  when  the  "  eclipse"  in 
Plymouth  colony  was  probably  the  darkest,  the  office  of 
teacher  in  this  Church  became  vacant  again  by  Mr.  Hooke's 

*  Magn.  1, 14.  Samuel  Newman,  of  Rehoboth,  "  was  almost  the  only  min- 
ister whose  invincible  patience  held  out  under  the  scandalous  neglect  and 
contempt  of  the  ministry  which  the  whole  colony  of  Plymouth  was  for  a 
while  bewitched  into."— Ibid.  Ill,  114. 


156 

return  to  England ;  and  it  may  be  presumed  that  it  was  by  Mr. 
Hooke's  friendly  influence  that  his  old  colleague  at  Taunton 
became  his  successor  here.  The  Church  did  not  proceed  on 
that  occasion  as  Churches  now  proceed  when  they  call  a  min- 
ister away  from  his  settlement.  They  did  not  place  him  over 
them  as  their  minister,  merely  because  of  his  general  repu- 
tation, or  because  somebody  recommended  him.  Mr.  Street 
left  Taunton,  removed  his  family  to  New  Haven,  took  up  his 
residence  here,  and  afterwards,  when  he  had  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  people  and  the  people  with  him,  he  was 
elected  and  ordained  teacher  of  this  Church.  The  date  of 
his  ordination  stands  upon  our  church  records,  "  the  26th  of 
the  9th,  1659."* 

For  eight  or  nine  years,  he  was  associated  here  with  Mr. 
Davenport.  After  the  removal  of  his  colleague,  he  continued 
the  only  minister  in  the  Church  till  his  death,  which  took 
place  on  the  22d  of  April,  1674.  Since  that  time,  there  has 
been  no  distinction  attempted  in  this  Church  between  the 
the  office  of  teacher  and  that  of  pastor. 

Of  the  character  of  Mr.  Street,  as  of  his  life,  we  know  but 
little.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  pious,  judicious,  modest 
man.  His  "  Considerations  upon  the  Seven  Propositions  con- 
cluded by  the  Synod,"  published  as  an  appendix  to  Mr.  Dav- 

*  The  Rev.  Richard  Blinman  appears  to  have  preached  to  this  Church  for 
a  short  time  after  Mr.  Hooke  went  away,  and  before  Mr.  Street  was  intro- 
duced into  the  vacancy.  According  to  Winthrop,  (II,  64.)  who  characteri- 
zes him  as  "  a  godly  and  able  man,"  he  came  over  from  Wales  in  1642.  He 
labored  a  few  months  at  Marshfield ;  then  he  and  his  friends  removed  from 
that  place  to  Cape  Ann,  and  founded  Gloucester.  In  1648,  he  was  the  first 
minister  at  New  London.  It  is  not  improbable  that  he  was  brought  to  New 
Haven  by  the  friendly  offices  of  Governor  Winthrop.  The  only  instance  in 
which  his  name  appears  on  our  records  is  on  the  first  of  July,  1658,  when  at 
a  town  meeting,  "  Deacon  Miles  informed  that  Mr.  Blinman  was  like  to  want 
corn  and  other  provisions  within  a  short  time,  which  he  desired  might 
be  considered,  how  he  may  be  supplied."  From  New  Haven  he  went  to 
Newfoundland,  and  thence  to  England.  Mather  (Magn.  Ill,  13)  says,  that 
he  "  concluded  his  life  at  the  city  of  Bristol,  where  one  of  the  last  things  he 
did  was  to  defend  in  print  the  cause  of  infant-baptism."  He  had  been  min- 
ister at  Chepstow,  near  Bristol. — Non-conformist's  Memorial,  (Palmer's  ed.,) 
Ill,  177.  See  Allen's  Biographical  Dictionary. 


157 

enport's  more  elaborate  book  on  the  same  subject,  shows  great 
clearness  of  thought,  and  some  pungency  of  style.  That  he 
was  no  inferior  preacher,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
he  was  found  worthy  to  succeed  Mr.  Hooke,  and  that  he 
maintained  his  standing  as  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Davenport. 
The  whole  course  of  his  ministry  here,  was  about  sixteen 
years  and  a  half. 

Most  of  the  incidents  of  his  ministry  have  been  commem- 
orated in  our  notices  of  Mr.  Davenport.  Yet  one  proceeding 
of  the  Church  and  people,  which  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  consummated  till  after  Mr.  Davenport's  removal,  ought 
not  to  be  omitted  here.  In  the  year  1665,  on  the  day  of 
the  anniversary  thanksgiving,  a  contribution  was  "  given  in" 
for  "  the  saints  that  were  in  wanf  in  England."  This  was 
at  the  time  when,  in  that  country,  so  many  ministers,  ejected 
from  their  places  of  settlement,  were,  by  a  succession  of  enact- 
ments, studiously  cut  off  from  all  means  of  obtaining  bread 
for  themselves  and  their  wives  and  children.  The  contribu- 
tion was  made,  as  almost  all  payments  of  debts  or  of  taxes 
were  made  at  that  period,  in  grain  and  other  commodities ; 
there  being  no  money  in  circulation,  and  no  banks  by  which 
credit  could  be  converted  into  currency.  It  was  paid  over  to 
the  deacons  in  the  February  following.  We,  to  whom  it  is 
so  easy,  in  the  present  state  of  commerce,  to  remit  the  value 
of  any  contribution  to  almost  any  part  of  the  world,  cannot 
easily  imagine  the  circuitous  process  by  which  that  contribu- 
tion reached  the  "  poor  saints  "  whom  it  was  intended  to  re- 
lieve. By  the  deacons  the  articles  contributed  were  probably 
first  exchanged,  to  some  extent,  for  other  commodities  more 
suitable  for  exportation.  Then  the  amount  was  sent  to  Bar- 
badoes,  with  which  island  the  merchants  of  this  place  had 
intercourse,  and  was  exchanged  for  sugars,  which  were  thence 
sent  to  England,  to  the  care  of  four  individuals,  two  of  whom 
were  Mr.  Hooke  and  Mr.  Newman,  the  former  teacher  and 
ruling  elder  of  this  Church.  In  1671,  Mr.  Hooke,  in  a  letter 
to  the  Church,  said,  "  Mr.  Caryl,  Mr.  Barker,  Mr.  Newman 
and  myself  have  received  sugars  from  Barbadoes  to  the  value 


158 

of  about  £90,  and  have  disposed  of  it  to  several  poor  minis- 
ters and  ministers'  widows.  And  this  fruit  of  your  bounty 
is  very  thankfully  received  and  acknowledged  by  us.  And 
the  good  Lord  make  all  grace  to  abound  towards  you,  &c. 
2  Cor.  ix,  8—12."* 

The  death  of  Mr.  Street  was  followed  by  a  period  of  ten 
years  in  which  the  Church  was  without  an  elder  to  labor  in 
word  and  doctrine.  During  this  long  interval,  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  so  far  as  it  was  performed  at  all,  was  performed 
by  a  succession  of  candidates,  whose  occasional  and  tem- 
porary labors  could  accomplish  but  little  for  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion. Of  these  preachers,  the  most  distinguished,  and 
indeed  the  only  one  of  whom  any  thing  is  now  known  with 
certainty,  was  Mr.  John  Harriman,  afterwards  pastor  at  Eliz- 
abethtown,  in  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Harriman  was  a  native  of 
New  Haven.  His  father  was  for  many  years  a  respected 
member  of  the  Church,  and  was  long  the  keeper  of  the  ordi- 
nary, or  house  of  public  entertainment  in  this  town.  The 
son,  having  been  fitted  for  college  in  the  grammar  school 
here,  under  the  eye  of  Mr.  Davenport,  was  educated  at  Har- 
vard College,  where  he  graduated  in  1667.  For  about  twenty 
years,  he  resided  in  this  place ;  and  during  that  period,  he 
preached  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry  here,  at  Walling- 
ford,  and  at  East  Haven. 

Another  of  the  preachers  here  during  the  same  period,  was 
a  Mr.  Taylor,  whom  I  suppose  to  be  the  Joseph  Taylor  who 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1669,  who  was  a  fellow  or 
tutor  in  that  institution,  who  was  ordained  pastor  of  South- 


*  Town  records.  The  words  of  Paul  referred  to  by  Mr.  Hooke,  are  these  : 
"  And  God  is  able  to  make  all  grace  abound  toward  you;  that  ye,  always 
having  all  sufficiency  in  all  things,  may  abound  to  every  good  work  :  (as  it  is 
written,  He  hath  dispersed  abroad;  he  hath  given  to  the  poor;  his  right- 
eousness remaineth  for  ever.  Now,  he  that  ministereth  seed  to  the  sower, 
both  minister  bread  for  your  food,  and  multiply  your  seed  sown,  and  increase 
the  fruits  of  your  righteousness  :)  being  enriched  in  every  thing  to  all  boun- 
tifulness,  which  causeth  through  us  thanksgiving  to  God.  For  the  adminis- 
tration of  this  service  not  only  supplieth  the  wants  of  the  saints,  but  is  abun- 
dant also  by  many  thanksgivings  unto  God." 


159 

ampton,  on  Long  Island,  in  March,  1680,  and  who  died  in 
April,  1682,  aged  31.*  He  appears  to  have  been  preaching 
here  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Street ;  and  he  continued  to 
perform  that  work  till  the  spring  of  1679  ;  and  after  that,  in 
September,  it  was  not  yet  certain  that  he  would  not  return. 

Mr.  Harriman's  service  in  the  Church  began  in  July,  1676. 
In  March,  1678,  he  was  desired  by  the  Church  "  to  go  on  in 
his  work."  His  labors  here  continued  till  the  year  1682. 
Mr.  Taylor,  at  least,  seems  to  have  been  at  one  time  called 
by  the  Church  to  a  permanent  settlement,  f 

While  these  two  men  were  employed  by  the  Church  as 
preachers,  there  arose  much  difficulty  and  contention,  the 
precise  nature  of  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 
Tradition  says,  that  the  contention  was  between  the  adhe- 
rents of  the  rival  candidates,  and  that  the  two  parties  were 
known  by  the  names  of  the  two  preachers ;  but  nothing  of 
this  kind  appears  on  any  of  the  records,  and  it  is  quite  as 
likely  that  the  division  was  upon  the  great  question  of  the 
day,  the  question  about  "  the  halfway  covenant."  It  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  there  were  difficulties ;  that  the  Church 
and  the  town  were  much  divided ;  and  that  religion  greatly 
declined,  while  many  things  were  done  which  were  after- 
wards repented  of  with  public  humiliation. 

*  Farmer,  Geneal.  Reg.  Dr.  Dana,  probably  by  mistake,  says  that  Mr. 
Taylor's  name  was  John. 

t  These  particulars  are  gleaned  partly  from  the  records  of  the  town,  and 
partly  from  tliose  of  the  Church.  Mr.  Taylor  was  doubtless  the  person  in- 
dicated by  the  initials  "-J.  T."  in  the  following  anecdote,  which  Mather 
(Magn.  VII,  34,)  copies  from  the  letter  of  "  an  excellent  and  ingenious  per- 
son," probably  Mr.  Pierpont. 

"  E.  F.  sometimes  of  Salem,  coming  to  New  Haven  on  Saturday  even,  be- 
ing cloathed  in  black,  was  taken  for  a  minister,  and  was  able  to  ape  one,  and 
humored  the  mistake  like  him  that  said,  Si  milt  populus  decipi  decipiatur. 
Word  being  carried  to  Mr.  J.  T.  that  a  minister  was  come  to  town,  he  im- 
mediately procured  him  to  preach  both  parts  of  the  day.  The  first  was  to 
acceptation ;  but  in  the  last  exercise  he  plentifully  showed  himself  to  be  a 
whimsical  opinionist,  and  besides,  railed  like  Rabshakeh,  and  reviled  the  ma- 
gistrates, ministers  and  churches  at  such  a  rate,  that  the  people  were  ready 
to  pull  him  out  of  the  pulpit." 


160 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1678,  a  council  from  the  Churches 
of  Milford  and  Guilford  met  here  "  to  be  helpful"  to  this 
Church  "with  light  and  counsel  touching  the  difficulties" 
which  then  existed.  As  the  proceedings  which  ensued  serve 
to  give  some  idea  of  the  state  of  the  Church  at  that  •  time, 
some  account  of  them  is  proper.  Eight  days  after  the  meet- 
ing of  the  council,  namely,  on  Wednesday,  the  12th  of  Feb- 
ruary, the  Church  met  "  to  read  and  consider  what  advice 
was  left  by  the  honored  and  reverend  council."  In  compli- 
ance with  the  advice  given,  Mr.  William  Jones  and  Capt. 
John  Nash,  "  were  by  vote  called  and  desired  to  assist  the 
deacon  in  molding  and  moderating  matters  for  the  Church ;" 
and  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  was  agreed  upon  to  be  kept 
on  Wednesday  of  the  following  week.  Mr.  Jones  and  Capt. 
Nash  were  requested  to  draw  up  in  writing  a  statement  of  the 
grounds  on  which  the  Church  was  to  unite  in  public  humili- 
ation. The  statement  thus  prepared  was  submitted  to  the 
Church  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  was  approved  and  assented 
to.  The  day  appointed  was  duly  observed  as  a  day  of  hu- 
miliation, fasting  and  prayer,  the  public  exercises  "  being  car- 
ried on,  the  former  part  of  the  day  by  Deacon  Peck  and  Mr. 
Harriman,  and  the  latter  part  by  Mr.  William  Jones  and  Capt. 
John  Nash,  with  appearance  of  the  gracious  presence  and  as- 
sistance of  God,  to  the  refreshing  and  comfort  of  all  that 
were  present."* 

After  the  close  of  Mr.  Harriman's  services  in  the  year  1682, 
the  Church  and  town  enjoyed  for  one  year  the  labors  of  a 
Mr.  Wilson,  who  came  to  this  place  from  "  the  Bay ;"  but 
of  whom  nothing  farther  is  now  known. f 

During  this  period,  a  great  change  took  place  in  the  mode 
of  supporting  public  worship.  The  original  method  of  de- 
fraying ecclesiastical  expenses  from  the  church  treasury  in 
the  keeping  of  the  deacons,  and  of  supplying  the  church 
treasury  by  voluntary  contributions  only,  was  maintained  till 
Mr.  Davenport  and  Mr.  Street  were  both  gone.  But  in 

*  Church  Records.  t  Town  Records. 


101 

March,  1677,  a  proposition  was  presented  in  writing  from  the 
Church  to  a  town  meeting,  by  Deacon  Peck,  upon  which, 
"  after  debate,  the  town,  for  the  encouragement  of  those  that 
preach  the  word  of  God  unto  us,  according  as  had  been  pro- 
pounded, did  by  vote  order  and  appoint,  that  for  the  ensuing 
year  there  shall  be  levied  and  paid  from  the  inhabitants  two 
rates  and  a  half,"  that  is,  a  tax  of  two  and  a  half  pence  in 
the  pound.  But  the  change  was  not  complete.  No  man 
was  appointed  to  collect  this  tax ;  it  seems  to  have  been  sup- 
posed that  every  man  would  pay  his  part  at  his  own  conve- 
nience, either  to  the  ministers  or  to  the  church  treasury. 
And  when  at  the  next  town  meeting,  "  John  Thompson  pro- 
pounded that  some  might  be  appointed  to  receive  the  minis- 
ter's rates,"  "  it  was  answered  that  it  was  not  of  necessity  at 
this  time."  And  when  the  same  man,  supposing  that  it  now 
belonged  to  the  town  to  employ  and  dismiss  ministers  as  well 
as  to  pay  them,  "  further  propounded  that  the  town  would 
appoint  a  committee  to  treat  with  the  ministers,  and  that  it 
was  according  to  law ;  the  law  was  read,  and  he  was  told  that 
the  law  speaks  of  no  such  thing.  Then  he  said  it  was  ac- 
cording to  Christianity ;  but  he  was  answered,  that  neither 
our  law  nor  Christian  rules  required  it  of  us,  and  the  town 
had  other  occasions  to  attend  at  this  time,  which  they  were 
come  together  to  perform."  Yet  at  another  town  meeting, 
in  December  of  the  same  year,  "  Mr.  Jones  informed  the 
town  that  one  occasion  of  calling  them  together  was  respect- 
ing the  ministers.  The  townsmen  had  heard  that  there  were 
not  necessary  supplies  brought  in  for  their  subsistence,  which 
was  not  well  among  such  a  people."  And  accordingly,  "  the 
town  by  vote  did  make  choice  of  and  appoint  Deacon  Will- 
iam Peck  and  John  Chidsey  to  make  up  the  rate  and  appoint 
the  delivery  of  it  to  the  ministers,  and  to  prosecute  such  as 
fail  in  the  payment."*  Thus  the  change  was  completed. 
The  support  of  the  ministry  was  transferred  to  the  town. 
The  change  seems  to  indicate,  not  only  that  the  ministers 

*  Town  Records. 

21 


162 

then  serving  in  the  pulpit  had  a  much  lower  place  in  the 
affections  of  the  people  than  Mr.  Davenport  and  his  colleagues 
had  possessed ;  but  also  that  the  power  of  religion  itself 
in  the  community  was  declining.  The  change  shows  the 
growth  of  selfish  and  narrow  feelings,  and  the  decay  of  pub- 
lic spirit.  It  shows  that  one  generation  was  passing  away, 
and  that  another  was  coming. 

The  period  of  this  protracted  vacancy  in  the  pastoral  office 
here,  included  the  times  of  the  memorable  war  of  the  New 
England  colonies  with  the  Indians  combined  under  King 
Philip.  I  may  not  stop  to  tell  the  story  of  that  war,  during 
which  the  very  existence  of  New  England  was  in  question. 
Philip,  of  Mount  Hope,  a  high-spirited  savage,  of  great  en- 
terprise, bravery  and  military  genius,  jealous  of  the  constant 
growth  of  the  English  settlements,  hating  their  religion,  des- 
pising those  of  his  own  countrymen  who  embraced  the  wor- 
ship and  cultivated  the  manners  of  the  white  men,  and  feeling 
strong  in  that  acquaintance  with  the  arms  of  civilized  war- 
fare which  the  Indians  had  so  extensively  acquired,  united 
the  savage  tribes  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  in  a  last 
desperate  effort  to  exterminate  the  English.  The  conflict 
lasted  about  two  years ;  and  it  was  a  conflict,  the  details  of 
which  show  more  of  heroism  in  action  and  in  suffering,  than 
can  be  found  in  the  history  of  almost  any  other  war,  ancient 
or  modern.  During  that  war,  so  crowded  with  disasters  and 
horrors  that  fill  the  traditions  of  all  the  old  towns  of  Massa- 
chusetts, New  Haven,  and  indeed  every  other  settlement 
within  the  bounds  of  Connecticut,  was  mercifully  preserved 
from  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  No  village  was  swept 
away  by  the  storm  of  war.  No  rural  sanctuary  was  laid  in 
ruins.  No  laborer,  shot  by  the  ambushed  savage,  fell  in  the 
furrow.  No  father  returning  to  his  house,  found  all  desolate, 
the  calcined  bones  of  his  children  mingled  with  the  ashes  of 
his  dwelling.  No  mother,  torn  from  her  sick  bed,  saw  her 
babe  dashed  in  pieces  against  her  own  hearth-stone.  Such 
things  there  were  in  other  parts  of  New  England  ;  but  they 
were  not  in  Connecticut.  Yet  here  were  alarms  and  watch- 


163 

ings — here  were  levies  of  soldiers — here  every  storehouse, 
every  dwelling,  yielded  its  supplies  to  feed  the  army — here 
was  that  sad  sight,  the  young,  the  brave,  the  hope  of  gray- 
haired  sires,  the  strength  and  pride  of  the  plantation,  march- 
ing away  from  the  homes  that  looked  to  them  for  protection. 
Here  were  dreadful  tidings  from  the  camp  and  the  battle. 

In  the  records  of  proceedings  here  at  that  time,  there  is  so 
much  of  freshness  and  vividness,  so  much  to  illustrate  the 
character  and  condition  of  the  people.,  that  I  may  be  excused 
in  transcribing  a  few  passages. 

At  a  town  meeting,  the  2d  of  July,  1675,  just  twelve  days 
after  Philip's  first  act  of  hostility,  "  Mr.  Jones  acquainted  the 
town,  that  the  occasion  of  calling  the  meeting  so  suddenly 
was  concerning  the  rising  and  outrage  of  the  Indians  in 
Plymouth  colony  at  Seakonk  and  Swansy,  which  was  in- 
formed by  letters  sent  from  the  Narragansett  country  to  the 
Governor,  the  copies  of  which  were  sent  to  us  that  we  con- 
sider and  prepare  in  time  against  the  common  danger."  Af- 
ter the  reading  of  the  letters,  "  it  was  moved  that  every  per- 
son now  would  be  quickened  to  have  his  arms  ready  by  him 
for  his  use  and  defense.  And  it  was  advised  that  those  who 
live  abroad  at  the  farms  be  careful  not  to  straggle  abroad  into 
the  woods,  at  least  not  yet,  till  we  have  further  intelligence 
of  the  Indians'  motions,  and  that  they  keep  watch  in  the 
night  to  discover  danger,  and  upon  intelligence  of  danger  to 
get  together  to  stand  for  their  defense  at  the  farms,  or  else  to 
come  to  the  town."  "  Mr.  Jones  further  informed  that  Philip 
the  Indian  was  a  bloody  man,  and  hath  been  ready  formerly 
to  break  out  against  the  English,  but  had  been  hitherto  re- 
strained. But  now  war  was  broke  forth,  and  it  is  likely  must 
be  prosecuted."  "  The  town  was  also  informed  that  the  ma- 
gistrates had  had  speech  with  our  Indians,  and  they  denied 
any  knowledge  of  Philip's  motions,  neither  did  they  like 
them,  and  also  said  that  they  had  no  men  gone  that  way,  and 
would  give  us  any  intelligence  they  meet  with,  and  that  if 
any  strange  Indians  come  to  them,  they  will  inform  us  and 
not  harbor  them.  The  town  ordered  that  an  account  be  ta- 


164 

ken  of  the  Indians,  how  many  men  they  are  and  where  they 
are  ;  and  Matthew  Moulthrop,  who  now  took  the  constable's 
oath,  was  to  warn  them  and  look  after  them."  Arrangements 
were  also  made  for  "a  military  watch  at  the  town ;"  and  a 
committee  of  safety  was  appointed. 

At  a  meeting  in  September,  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  superintend  the  erection  of  fortifications  at  the  meeting 
house,  "and  also  at  any  other  place  or  places  about  town,  as 
they  or  the  major  part  of  them  shall  agree."  Capt.  Roswell 
was  appointed  "  to  prepare  the  great  guns,  or  so  many  of 
them  as  is  necessary,  to  be  fit  for  service."  And  finally,  "  the 
town  considering  the  present  circumstances,  and  our  danger, 
by  vote  appointed  (whilst  these  exercises  are  on  us)  that  all 
the  inhabitants  bring  their  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  meet- 
ings upon  the  Sabbaths  and  other  public  days." 

On  the  12th  of  October,  there  was  "  a  meeting  of  the 
dwellers  in  the  town,  the  farms  not  being  warned,"  at  which 
"  Mr.  Jones  acquainted  the  town,  that  the  cause  of  calling  the 
town  together  was  the  sad  tidings  that  was  come  to  us,  of 
the  burning  of  Springfield,  and  some  persons  slain  by  the 
Indians."  It  was  immediately  agreed  that  besides  the  forti- 
fication on  the  green,  palisadoes  should  be  erected  at  the  ends 
of  the  streets  and  at  the  angles  of  the  town,  such  as  should 
be  a  shelter  against  the  shot  of  an  enemy.  It  was  also  ordered 
that  all  small  wood,  brush  and  underwood  within  half  a  mile 
of  the  town  plot  should  be  cut  down  and  cleared  away,  that 
it  might  not  afford  shelter  to  Indians  to  creep  in  a  skulking 
manner  near  the  town. 

So  again  on  the  18th  of  October,  Mr.  Jones  acquainted  the 
town  that  intelligence  had  come  "  that  there  is  a  strong  con- 
federacy among  the  Indians  in  these  parts  against  the  Eng- 
lish, and  that  our  pretended  friends  are  in  the  plot,  and  that 
this  light  moon  they  did  intend  to  attack  Hartford  and  some 
other  places  as  far  as  Greenwich."  He  also  gave  informa- 
tion on  the  authority  of  some  communication  from  Major 
Treat,  "  that  the  Narragan  setts  are  in  great  preparation  for 
war."  The  General  Court  too,  he  told  them,  and  the  Coun- 


165 

cil  "  do  advise  all  the  plantations  to  fortify  themselves  in  the 
best  way  they  can  against  the  common  enemy."  The  busi- 
ness of  enclosing  the  town  with  fortifications  was  urged  for- 
ward ;  and  it  was  determined  that  while  that  work  was  in 
progress,  some  particular  houses  should  be  garrisoned. 

Twelve  days  afterwards,  (30th October,)  there  was  another 
meeting,  and  farther  arrangements  were  made  for  hastening 
the  fortifications.  "  The  Deputy  Governor  [Leete]  being 
present  in  the  meeting,  spoke  much  to  the  encouragement 
and  advising  of  the  inhabitants  to  go  on  with  the  work,  and 
to  do  it  with  unanimity,  seeking  the  safety  of  the  whole,  as 
far  as  may  be,  but  especially  as  in  the  natural  body  the  hands 
and  all  the  members  seek  the  securing  of  the  heart." 

During  the  depth  of  winter,  the  alarm  was  somewhat  less 
urgent ;  but  on  the  7th  of  February,  (17th,  N.  S.)  "it  was 
propounded  that  now  the  winter  season,  which  had  hindered 
the  finishing  of  the  fortification  about  the  town,  wearing  off, 
it  [the  fortification]  might  go  forward  again  and  be  perfected ; 
and  that  the -present  state  of  things  as  to  the  war,  calls  for 
attendance  to  that  work,  especially  the  Narragansetts  appear- 
ing in  such  hostility :  and  the  last  intelligence  from  the  Coun- 
cil at  Hartford  was,  that  the  enemy  doth  scatter  into  several 
bodies  to  disperse  themselves  into  the  country ;  and  they  be- 
ing hungry  will  seek  for  supply :  and  the  consideration  of 
what  damage  may  come,  should  hasten  us  in  our  duty  to  be 
in  the  use  of  means  for  our  safety." 

On  the  6th  of  March,  the  fortification  being  not  yet  com- 
pleted, it  was  ordered,  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  "  a  supply  of 
wood  to  finish  the  line,"  "  that  every  team  in  the  town  and 
farms,  except  those  on  the  east  side  of  the  East  river,  do  each 
of  them  bring  to  the  work  one  load  of  suitable  wood,  and 
those  that  have  not  teams  to  help  to  cut  it,  and  to  bring  it 
at  the  farthest  on  the  8th  and  9th  days  of  this  month."  At 
the  same  time  an  order  was  made  "  that  no  Indian  be  suffered 
to  come  into  the  town  to  see  the  fortifications,  or  take  notice 
of  any  of  our  actings  and  motions ;  and  thai  by  the  consta- 
ble, warning  be  given  them  that  not  any  of  them  may  come 


166 

into  the  town,  nor  unto  any  English  houses ;  and  that  if  any 
Indian  come  into  the  town,  he  be  apprehended  and  sent  back 
again,  yet  what  may  be  to  avoid  any  misusage  of  them." 
All  persons  able  to  bear  arms  were  ordered  to  bring  their 
arms,  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  powder  and  shot,  to  all 
meetings  for  public  worship  ;  "  only  the  dwellers  at  the  farms 
had  liberty  in  bad  weather  to  leave  their  arms,  and  so  secure 
them  that  the  enemy  get  them  not."  The  distress  of  the 
time  was  augmented  by  sickness,  which  made  it  necessary-  at 
a  meeting  in  April,  to  reduce  their  nightly  watch. 

In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  summer,  the  war  was  brought 
to  a  conclusion.  In  the  east,  however,  the  war  continued 
several  years  longer,  till  most  of  the  settlements  in  what  is 
now  the  State  of  Maine  had  been  swept  away,  and  the  coun- 
try recovered  by  the  savages. 

The  two  years  of  war  with  King  Philip,  were  the  most 
disastrous  and  dreadful  years  in  all  the  history  of  New  Eng- 
land. Desperate  as  was  the  struggle  a  century  later,  in  the 
war  of  the  revolution,  that  conflict  with  the  most  powerful 
nation  on  earth,  involved  less  of  suffering,  and  less  expendi- 
ture of  treasure  and  of  life,  in  proportion  to  what  were  then 
the  resources  of  the  United  States,  than  was  involved  in  the 
war  with  Philip.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  more  than  six 
hundred  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  England,  including  no 
small  part  of  the  flower  and  strength  of  the  colonies,  had 
fallen  in  battle  or  been  murdered  by  the  enemy.  There  was 
hardly  a  family  or  an  individual  that  was  not  mourning  the 
loss  of  some  near  friend.  Every  eleventh  man  in  the  militia 
had  fallen ;  every  eleventh  family  throughout  New  England 
had  been  "  burnt  out."  The  cultivation  of  the  soil  had  been 
in  a  great  measure  suspended ;  all  resources  were  exhausted ; 
and  every  colony  and  town  was  loaded  with  debt.*  In  all 
the  conflict,  and  in  the  ensuing  distresses,'not  the  least  assist- 
ance did  the  colonies  derive  from  the  parent  country.  Nay, 
at  that  very  time,  the  profligates  in  the  court  of  Charles  II, 

*  Trurabull,  I,  350. 


167 

were  plotting  how  to  seize  and  divide  the  spoils  of  weakened 
and  impoverished  New  England. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  effect  of  war  is  to  exhaust  and 
impoverish.  It  is  this  which  the  suffering  country  feels  at 
the  time,  with  the  keenest  sensibility.  Upon  this  the  histo- 
rian dwells  in  his  narrative,  with  the  most  copious  illustra- 
tions. But  how  soon  do  such  effects  pass  away,  when  once 
the  cause  has  ceased.  The 

"  Grass  o'ergrows  each  mouldering  Rone," 

upon  the  battle-ground, — the  corn  waves  again  in  the  field 
where  the  fires  of  the  enemy  spread  devastation, — the  ruined 
home  is  rebuilt, — the  empty  storehouse  is  replenished, — new 
affections  spring  up,  new  joys  and  griefs  occupy  the  minds  of 
survivors ;  and,  in  a  little  while,  how  few  are  the  visible 
traces  of  the  storm  that  swept  the  land,  and  left  it  filled  with 
horror. 

But  war  has  other  effects,  deeper,  more  to  be  dreaded, 
more  enduring.  It  demoralizes  and  barbarizes  the  people. 
What  passions  does  it  awaken  and  nourish !  What  habits 
does  it  form !  How  does  a  population  long  trained  to  war 
loathe  the  industry,  and  despise  the  virtues  of  peace !  Wrath, 
fury,  rapine,  are  the  virtues  of  war.  And  the  more  desperate 
the  conflict,  the  nearer  it  is  brought  to  every  man's  hearth, 
the  deeper  and  more  abiding  will  be  those  unseen  but  dire- 
ful influences.*  Where  the  young  men  finish  their  schooling 


*  If  any  reader  doubts  what  is  meant  by  the  demoralizing  and  barbarizing 
tendency  of  war,  let  him  read  what  Hutchinson  has  recorded  in  a  note,  as 
illustrating  the  exasperation  of  the  people  at  the  period  now  under  review. 
"  Mr.  Increase  Mather,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Cotton,  [of  Plymouth,]  23d,  5mo. 
1677,  mentions  an  instance  of  rage  against  two  prisoners  of  the  Eastern  In- 
dians, then  at  Marblehead,  a  fishing  town,  which  goes  beyond  any  other  I 
have  heard  of.  '  Sabbath  day  was  se'night,  the  women  at  Marblehead,  as 
they  came  out  of  the  meeting  house,  fell  upon  two  Indians  that  were  brought 
in  as  captives,  and  in  a  tumultuous  way,  very  barbarously  murdered  them. 
Doubtless  if  the  Indians  hear  of  it,  the  captives  among  them  will  be  served 
accordingly.'  The  Indians  had  murdered  some  of  the  fishermen  in  the  East- 
ern harbors  of  the  province."  Hutch.  I,  307. 


168 

in  the  camp,  no  matter  how  severe  the  discipline,  or  how 
righteous  the  cause,  what  can  be  expected  but  corruption  ? 

War  also  resists  and  even  corrupts  the  influences  of  reli- 
gion. When  war  in  a  righteous  cause,  war  for  liberty  and 
for  existence,  rouses  a  people  to  enthusiasm,  it  makes  religion 
not  its  ally  only,  but  its  handmaid.  And  pure  religion  can- 
not but  be  the  sufferer  by  such  a  servitude.  All  the  history 
of  Christianity  is  a  melancholy  illustration  of  this.  When 
did  religion  "pure  and  undefiled"  prosper, — when  did  it  es- 
cape corruption,  and  the  paralysis  of  its  salutary  powers, 
in  a  country  agitated  with  war  ?  The  gospel  is  the  religion 
of  peace ;  and  in  peace  only,  does  it  yield  those  leaves  which 
are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

The  desperate  war  with  Philip,  and  the  more  prolonged 
conflict  with  the  Eastern  Indians,  had  much  to  do  with  the 
decay  of  the  primitive  glory  of  New  England.  The  country 
recovered  without  -difficulty  from  its  impoverishment  and  ex- 
haustion; population  spread  rapidly  over  the  regions  from 
which  the  vanquished  barbarian  had  fled  ;  but  the  pure  stem 
primitive  morals,  and  the  power  of  evangelical  doctrine,  suf- 
fered a  continued  decay. 

As  I  trace  this  history  from  one  period  of  distress  and  con- 
flict to  another,  the  thought  is  continually  presenting  itself, 
How  great  the  expense  at  which  our  privileges  have  been  ob- 
tained for  us !  We  dwell  in  peace  and  perfect  safety.  The 
lines  are  fallen  to  us  in  pleasant  places.  Beauty,  comfort, 
light,  joy,  are  all  around  us.  The  poorest  man  among  us, 
has  within  his  reach  immunities  and  blessings  without  num- 
ber, means  of  improvement  and  means  of  enjoyment,  to 
which  the  far  greater  portion  of  mankind,  even  in  the  most 
favored  communities,  have  hitherto  been  strangers.  And 
how  little  of  this  has  been  obtained  by  any  effort  or  any  sacri- 
fice of  ours.  We  have  entered  into  other  men's  labors.  We 
are  enjoying  the  results  of  their  agonies,  and  the^answer  to 
their  prayers.  They  subdued  the  wilderness,  and  planted  a 
land  not  sown  ;  that  we  might  dwell  in  a  land  adorned  with 
culture,  and  enriched  with  the  products  of  industry  and  art. 


169 

They  traversed  with  weary  steps  the  pathless  woods,  where 
the  wild  beast  growled  upon  them  from  his  lair ;  that  we 
might  travel  upon  roads  of  iron,  borne  by  powers  of  which 
they  never  dreamed,  and  with  a  speed  that  leaves  the  winds 
behind.  They  encountered  all  that  is  terrible  in  savage 
war,  and  shed  their  blood  in  swamps  and  forests ;  that 
we  might  live  in  this  security.  They,  with  anxiety  that 
never  rested,  and  with  many  a  stroke  of  vigilant  or  daring 
policy,  baffled  the  machinations  of  the  enemies  who  sought 
to  reduce  them  to  a  servile  dependence  on  the  crown  ;  that 
we  might  enjoy  this  popular  government,  these  equal  laws, 
this  perfect  liberty.  They  came  to  the  world's  end,  away 
from  schools  and  libraries,  and  all  the  fountains  of  light  in 
the  old  world ;  that  we  and  our  children  might  inhabit  a 
land,  glorious  with  the  universal  diffusion  of  knowledge. 
They  were  exiles  for  truth  and  purity,  they  like  their  Savior 
were  tempted  in  the  wilderness ;  that  the  truth  might  make 
us  free,  and  that  the  richest  blessing  of  their  covenant  God 
might  come  on  their  posterity.  All  that  there  is  in  our  lot 
for  which  to  be  grateful,  we  owe,  under  God,  to  those  who 
here  have  labored,  and  prayed,  and  suffered  for  us. 

So  it  is  every  where.  While  every  man  is  in  one  view 
the  arbiter  of  his  own  destiny,  the  author  of  his  own  weal  or 
woe ;  in  another  view,  equally  true  and  equally  important, 
every  man's  lot  is  determined  by  others.  Every  where  in 
this  world,  you  see  the  principle  of  vicarious  action  and  vica- 
rious suffering.  No  being  under  the  government  of  God,  ex- 
ists for  himself  alone  ;  and  in  this  world  of  conflict  and  of 
change,  where  evermore  one  generation  passeth  away  and 
another  generation  cometh,  the  greatest  toil  of  each  succeed- 
ing age  is  to  provide  for  its  successors.  Thus,  by  the  very 
constitution  and  conditions  of  our  existence  here,  does  our 
Creator  teach  us  to  rise  above  the  narrow  views  and  aims  of 
selfishness,  and  to  find  our  happiness  in  seeking  the  happiness 
of  others.  Such  is  God's  plan, — such  are  the  relations  by 
which  he  connects  us  with  the  past  and  with  the  future,  as 
well  as  with  our  fellow  actors  in  the  passing  scene  ;  and  the 
22 


170 

mind  which  by  the  grace  of  the  gospel  has  been  renewed  to 
a  participation  "  of  the  Divine  nature,"  throws  itself  sponta- 
neously into  God's  plan,  and  learns  the  meaning  of  that  motto, 
"None  of  us  liveth  to  himself  and  none  dieth  to  himself." 
The  believer,  created  anew  in  Christ,  and  knowing  him  and 
the  power  of  his  resurrection,  knows  also  "  the  fellowship  of 
his  sufferings,  being  made  conformable  to  his  death."  (Phil, 
iii,  10.)  In  this  spirit  an  apostle  exclaimed,  "  I  rejoice  in  my 
sufferings  for  you,  and  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the 
afflictions  of  Christ."  (Col.  i,  24.) 

Look  about  you  now,  and  compute  if  you  can,  how  much 
you  are  enjoying  of  the  purchase  of  other  men's  toils,  the  re- 
sults of  their  patience  and  steadfastness,  and  the  answer  to 
their  prayers.  The  debt  is  infinite.  All  that  you  can  do  to 
discharge  it,  is  to  stand  in  your  lot,  for  truth,  for  freedom,  for 
virtue,  and  "for  the  good  of  posterity." 


DISCOURSE   IX. 

FROM  1684  TO  1714. JAMES  PIERPONT. CAUSES  OF  PROGRES- 
SIVE DECLENSION,  AND  ATTEMPTS  AT  REFORMATION. FOUND- 
ING OF  YALE  COLLEGE. FORMATION  OF  THE  SATBROOK  CON- 
STITUTION. 

PSALM  cxlv,  4. — One  generation  shall  praise  thy  works  to  another,  and 
shall  declare  thy  mighty  acts. 

As  soon  as  New  England  began  to  recover  from  the  ex- 
haustion and  impoverishment  consequent  on  the  war  with 
the  Indians,  the  people  here  were  greatly  in  earnest  to  obtain 
a  reestablishrnent  of  the  gospel  ministry  among  them.  It 
was  a  favorable  circumstance  for  them,  while  their  late  di- 
visions were  not  yet  entirely  healed,  that  their  attention  was 
excited  by  the  prospect  of  obtaining  for  their  minister,  a  man 
of  great  eminence  in  that  day,  who  in  some  respects  resem- 
bled their  former  pastor.  That  man  was  the  Rev.  Joshua 
Moody  of  Portsmouth,  in  New  Hampshire,  then  called  Pis- 
cataway. 

New  Hampshire,  less  favored  in  its  origin  than  the  other 
New  England  colonies,  was  at  that  time  subject  to  a  royal 
governor, — a  creature  of  King  James  II,  practicing,  in  the 
four  towns  of  New  Hampshire,  the  same  violations  of  right 
and  liberty,  which  his  master  was  practicing  on  a  grander 
scale  in  England.  To  such  a  governor,  the  pastor  of  Ports- 
mouth had  become  greatly  obnoxious,  by  the  fearless  free- 
dom of  his  preaching,  and  by  his  resoluteness  in  maintaining 
a  strictly  Congregational  church  discipline.  A  member  of 
his  Church  was  strongly  suspected  of  having  taken  a  false 
oath,  in  a  matter  relating  to  the  seizure  and  escape  of  a  ves- 
sel. The  man  thus  charged  with  perjury,  was  able  in  some 
way  to  pacify  the  governor  and  the  collector ;  but  in  the 
Church,  the  supposed  offense  was  made  a  subject  of  investi- 
gation. Mr.  Moody,  as  pastor,  requested  of  Cranneld,  the 


172 

governor,  copies  of  the  evidence  which  had  been  taken  in 
the  case  by  the  government.  The  governor  not  only  refused 
this  request,  but  declared  that  the  man  having  been  forgiven 
by  him,  should  not  be  called  to  account  by  any  body  else, 
and  threatened  the  pastor  with  vengeance  if  he  dared  to  pro- 
ceed in  the  matter.  But  Mr.  Moody  did  not  believe  that  the 
right  of  a  Christian  Church  to  inspect  the  conduct  of  its  own 
members,  or  the  duty  of  a  Church  to  execute  discipline  upon 
offenders,  depended  on  the  will  of  governors  or  kings  ;  and 
to  him  the  wrath  of  Cranfield  was  a  small  matter  in  compa- 
rison with  the  reproaches  of  his  own  conscience,  or  the  dis- 
pleasure of  God.  Having  consulted  his  Church,  he  preached 
a  sermon  on  the  sin  of  perjury ;  and  then  the  offender  was 
tried,  found  guilty,  and  at  last,  by  God's  blessing  upon  the 
ordinance  of  church  discipline,  brought  to  repentance  and  a 
public  confession.  The  governor,  indignant  at  this  manly 
proceeding,  had  yet  no  way  to  execute  his  threat  of  ven- 
geance but  by  some  indirect  method.  He  accordingly 
made  an  order,  that  all  the  ministers  within  the  province, 
should  admit  all  persons  of  suitable  age,  and  not  vicious  in 
their  lives,  to  the  Lord's  supper,  and  their  children  to  bap- 
tism ;  and  that  if  any  person  should  desire  to  have  these  sa- 
craments administered  according  to  the  liturgy  of  the  Church 
of  England,  his  desire  should  be  complied  with.  The  min- 
ister who  should  refuse  obedience  to  this  order,  was  to  incur 
the  same  penalties  as  if  he  were  in  England  and  a  minister 
there  of  the  established  church.  Cranfield's  next  step  was, 
without  any  loss  of  time,  to  send  a  written  message  to  Mr. 
Moody,  by  the  hands  of  the  sheriff,  signifying  that  he  and 
two  of  his  friends  intended  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  supper 
the  next  Sunday,  and  requiring  that  it  be  administered  to 
them  according  to  the  liturgy.  To  this  demand,  Mr.  Moody 
returned  the  prompt  denial  which  was  expected ;  and  the 
consequence  was,  that  for  the  double  offense  of  refusing  to 
conform  to  the  order  .of  the  liturgy,  and  of  refusing  to  pro- 
fane the  Lord's  supper  by  administering  it  to  such  men  as 
Cranfield  and  his  minions,  he  was  prosecuted,  convicted  and 


173 

imprisoned.  For  thirteen  weeks  he  remained  in  close  con- 
finement •  and  he  was  then  released  only  under  a  strict 
charge  to  preach  no  more  within  the  province,  and  a  threat 
of  farther  imprisonment  if  he  should.* 

During  the  progress  of  this  controversy  at  Portsmouth,  the 
Church  here  "  had  intelligence  from  some  friends,  that  Mr. 
Moody  was  attainable  if  he  were  looked  after."  Thereupon 
the  Church  considering  Mr.  Moody  to  be  "  a  man,  by  report, 
singularly  fit  for  the  ministry,"  "  wrote  a  letter  to  be  con- 
veyed to  him  by  Mr.  Whiting  of  Hartford."  At  the  next 
town  meeting,  which  was  on  the  17th  of  March,  1684,  the 
town  was  informed  of  these  proceedings,  by  deputy  governor 
Bishop,  and  "  their  concurrence  in  the  matter,  to  procure  Mas- 
ter Moody  if  he  can  be  had,"  was  requested.  It  was  stated 
that,  as  at  the  latest  intelligence  he  was  known  to  be  a  pris- 
oner, and  as  it  was  doubtful  whether  the  letter  had  reached 
him  before  his  imprisonment,  the  Church  had  thought  con- 
venient to  send  a  messenger,  and  in  this  proceeding  desired 
the  town's  "  loving  concurrence,  and  that  there  might  be 
unity  and  peace."  "I  hope,"  said  Gov.  Bishop,  "we  shall 
all  agree,  and  desire  an  able  ministry  in  this  place  for  the 
good  of  our  souls,  as  it  is  hoped  that  this  man  may  be  such 
a  one."  "Mr.  Jones  also  spake  much  to  the  same  effect,  to 
do  things  in  peace,  and  to  get  up  to  our  former  state  and  pu- 
rity, which  we  had  in  the  time  of  Mr.  Davenport,  especially. 
He  also  acquainted  the  town  with  a  letter  he  received  from 
Mr.  Whiting,  respecting  Mr.  Moody."  After  debate,  and 
some  objection  to  the  expense  of  sending  a  messenger  "  so 
far,  at  uncertainties,"  it  was  agreed  to  concur  with  the  Church 
in  inviting  Mr.  Moody  to  come  as  a  minister  to  this  place, 
and  to  commit  it  to  the  Church  to  send  to  him  either  by  a 
messenger  or  by  a  letter,  f 

The  Church,  thus  empowered  by  the  town,  sent  Mr.  Jones, 
who  was  one  of  their  most  eminent  men,  and  Mr.  James  Hea- 
ton,  who  was  the  son  in  law  of  their  former  minister,  Mr- 

*  Bclknap,  Hist,  of  New  Hampshire,  I,  204.  t  Town  Records. 


174 

Street,  as  their  messengers  to  treat  with  Mr.  Moody.  The 
result  was,  that  Mr.  Moody,  having  seen  one  of  the  messen- 
gers at  Portsmouth  about  the  time  of  his  release  from  prison, 
in  the  month  of  May,  and  having  afterwards  conferred  with 
both  of  them  at  Boston  at  the  time  of  the  election  there,  de- 
clined the  invitation,  because  he  still  felt  himself  bound  to 
his  former  people,  and  "  would  try  the  providence  of  God, 
if  he  might  not  preach  near  them,  and  they  have  liberty  to 
hear  him." 

The  negotiation  with  Mr.  Moody  being  thus  terminated, 
the  messengers,  at  the  advice  of  several  ministers  in  Boston, 
and  of  other  friends,  went  so  far  beyond  their  commission  as 
to  make  an  application  to  Mr.  James  Pierpont  to  come  and 
preach  as  a  candidate  for  the  pastoral  office.  Mr.  Pierpont 
was  then  about  twenty  five  years  of  age.  He  had  graduated 
less  than  three  years  before,  at  Harvard  College.  But  it 
is  evident  that,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  he  was  regarded 
as  competent  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  any  of  the 
Churches  of  New  England. 

Mr.  Jones  and  Mr.  Heaton,  the  messengers  of  the  Church, 
having  returned,  made  a  statement  of  the  results  of  their 
mission,  at  a  town  meeting,  on  the  9th  of  June.  They  in- 
formed the  town  that  Mr.  Pierpont,  upon  their  proposal,  and 
the  advice  and  encouragement  of  his  friends,  "  had  engaged 
to  come,  and  be  here  the  first  Sabbath  in  August  next.  Mr. 
Jones  also  informed,  that  the  report  they  had  of  Mr.  Pierpont 
was,  that  he  was  a  godly  man,  a  good  scholar,  a  man  of  good 
parts,  and  likely  to  make  a  good  instrument : — also,  that  they 
had  agreed  with  him  to  send  a  man  to  come  up  with  him, 
and  a  horse  for  him  to  ride  up  upon."  After  "  a  large  debate," 
the  doings  of  the  messengers  were  harmoniously  ratified.* 

Accordingly,  in  the  month  of  August,  the  young  candi- 
date made  his  appearance.  At  the  town  meeting  in  Septem- 
ber, Deacon  Peck  appeared  in  behalf  of  the  Church.  Hav- 
ing alluded  to  their  sorrowful  and  afflicted  state,  in  being  so 

*  Town  Records. 


175 

long  destitute  of  pastoral  ministrations,  and  to  the  failure  of 
former  efforts,  he  adverted  to  the  fact  that  another  man,  "  and 
he  hoped  he  might  say  of  God's  sending,"  was  then  with 
them.  The  Church,  he  said,  were  well  satisfied  with  this 
man,  and  were  desirous  "  that  the  town  would  concur  with 
them  in  encouraging  him,  and  that  there  might  be  a  mainte- 
nance provided,  he  being  at  Mrs.  Davenport's  to  his  con- 
tent."* A  great  recommendation  of  the  candidate  was, — 
"  He  is  a  man  of  peace,  and  desires  peace  in  Church  and 
town,  and  would  rejoice  to  hear  of  it,  and  that  there  may  be 
no  after-troubles."  The  Deacon  went  on  to  say,  "  The 
Church  hath  had  some  consideration  of  differences  that  have 
been  in  the  Church,  and  do  see  that  there  have  been  miss- 
ings and  swervings  from  the  rule,  and  will  own  them  before 
the  Lord,  and  to  that  end  have  agreed  to  keep  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer  in  the  public  congregation,  wherein  to  confess 
our  sins  before  God,  and  beg  pardon,  and  to  seek  his  favor, 
and  that  his  presence  would  be  with  them  as  in  the  former 
times.  They  hoped  the  town  would  willingly  join  with 
them  in  keeping  the  day,  to  humble  our  souls  before  the 
Lord."  It  was  also  desired  "  that  the  town  would  declare 
their  concurrence  by  their  agreement,  and  now  appoint  some 
persons  as  their  committee,  to  go  to  Mr.  Pierpont  to  encour- 
age his  settlement  with  us,  that  the  Lord  may  return  again 
to  us  in  a  settled  ministry,  for  the  good  of  us,  our  families, 
and  of  posterity." 

Mr.  Jones  followed  with  similar  remarks.  "  It  was  true 
that  since  God  took  from  us  our  teaching  officers,  we  have 
had  our  miscarriages.  And  the  Church  hath  lately  met,  and 
reflected  on  things  and  times  past,  and  do  see  that  they  have 
dishonored  God,  and  hindered  the  good  of  our  neighbors, 
and,  as  Deacon  Peck  hath  informed  you,  have  made  prepa- 
ration for  a  solemn  day  of  prayer,  and  to  acknowledge  that 
which  hath  been  grievous  to  others,  or  stumbling  to  any  ; 

*  This  Mrs.  Davenport  was  widow  of  tire  son  of  the  first  pastor, — daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson  of  Branford, — sister  of  the  first  Rector  of  Yale 
College, — and  mother  of  Rev.  John  Davenport  of  Stamford. 


176 

and  have  desired  the  town  to  join  with  them,  in  their  prayer 
to  God,  that  he  would  pardon  our  sins,  and  be  with  us  in  set- 
tling the  present  instrument.  And  he  doubted  not  but  that 
the  grounds  for  keeping  [the  fast]  agreed  upon,  would  be 
satisfying  to  all ;  so  that  we  may  hope  for  God's  presence 
and  blessing  on  the  ministry,  for  the  good  of  all  concerned. 
God  is  about  a  great  work  in  the  world,  and  hath  guided  Mr. 
Pierpont  to  preach  those  things  that  are  suitable.  Arid  if 
God  give  the  Church  and  town  to  go  on  together,  it  will  be 
a  great  means." 

The  conclusion  of  the  matter,  "  after  some  moderate  de- 
bate," was,  that  the  town  appointed  "  Mr.  William  Jones, 
John  Nash,  Dea.  William  Peck,  Mr.  John  Hodson,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Trowbridge,"  to  go  to  Mr.  Pierpont  as  their  com- 
mittee, "  to  congratulate  and  give  him  thanks  for  his  love  in 
coming  to  us,  and  [to  assure  him  that]  they  did  well  accept 
his  labors  in  preaching  the  gospel,  and  have  found  that  God 
hath  been,  and  hope  will  be  with  him,  and  do  desire  his 
going  on  in  that  work,  that  the  Church  and  himself  may 
have  such  experience  and  trial  of  each  other,  [as]  to  proceed 
in  convenient  time  to  settle  in  office  in  the  Church  in  this 
place,  if  it  may  be  the  good  will  of  God.''* 

All  these  proceedings  were  not  the  only  preliminaries  to 
the  settlement  of  Mr.  Pierpont.  At  a  meeting  on  the  6th  of 
January,  it  was  agreed,  that  a  home-lot  and  house  and  other 
lands  should  be  provided  for  Mr.  Pierpont,  on  condition  of 
his  settling  in  office  in  the  Church.  The  means  of  building 
the  house  were  to  be  obtained  by  voluntary  contributions. 
The  magistrates  and  townsmen  were  made  a  committee  to 
obtain  the  necessary  funds,  to  plan  the  house  according  to 
the  funds  raised,  and  to  oversee  the  building.  The  neces- 
sary amount  was  pledged  in  money,  materials  and  labor,  with- 
out difficulty  or  delay.  On  the  30th  of  January,  the  plan  of 
the  house  was  ready,  and  was  ordered  to  be  submitted  to  Mr. 
Pierpont  for  his  approbation.  The  lot  was  purchased,  and 

*  *  Town  Records. 


177 

the  building  was  immediately  commenced.  When  it  was 
finished,  it  was  one  of  the  most  commodious  and  stately 
dwellings  in  the  town.  For  more  than  a  century,  it  stood  a 
monument  of  the  public  spirit  of  the  generation  by  whose 
voluntary  contributions  it  was  erected.  As  the  people  were 
bringing  in  their  free-will  offerings  of  one  kind  and  another, 
to  complete  and  furnish  the  building,  one  man  desiring  to  do 
something  for  the  object,  and  having  nothing  else  to  offer, 
brought  on  his  shoulder  from  the  farms  two  little  elm  sap- 
lings, and  planted  them  before  the  door  of  the  minister's 
house.  Under  their  shade,  some  forty  years  afterwards,  Jon- 
athan Edwards — then  soon  to  take  ranl$,  in  the  intellectual 
world,  with  Locke  and  Leibnitz — spoke  words  of  mingled 
love  and  piety  in  the  ear  of  Sarah  Pierpont.*  Under  their 
shade,  when  some  sixty  summers  had  passed  over  them, 
Whitefield  stood  on  a  platform,  and  lifted  up  that  voice,  the 
tones  of  which  lingered  so  long  in  thousands  of  hearts.  One 
of  them  is  still  standing,  the  tallest  and  most  venerable  of 
all  the  trees  in  this  city  of  elms,  and  ever  the  first  to  be 
tinged  with  green  at  the  return  of  spring.f 

The  ordination  of  Mr.  Pierpont  took  place  on  the  second 
day  of  July,  1685,^  after  he  had  been  with  the  people  about 
eleven  months  as  a  candidate.  The  great  number  of  bap- 
tisms which  are  recorded  as  following  very  rapidly  after  his 
ordination,  makes  it  probable  that  at  that  time  the  "halfway 
covenant"  principle,  which  had  been  recommended  by  the 
synod  of  1662,  and  to  oppose  which,  in  Boston,  where  it  ori- 
ginated, Mr.  Davenport  had  relinquished  his  ministry  here, — 
was  introduced  into  this  Church.  Yet  by  what  act  of  the 
Church  such  a  change  was  introduced,  by  what  considera- 
tions, or  by  whose  influence,  the  Church  was  led  to  adopt 

*  For  an  illustration  of  this  remark,  see  D wight's  Life  of  Edwards,  114. 

t  The  tree  stands  before  the  mansion  of  the  late  Judge  Bristol,  in  Elm 
street.  I  am  obliged  to  add,  that  investigations  made  since  this  discourse 
was  written,  have  thrown  some  doubt  upon  the  time  when  the  tree  was 
planted,  though  still  it  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest  in  the  city. 

t  Church  Records. 

23 


178 

so  great  an  innovation,  the  imperfection  of  our  church  records 
does  not  permit  us  to  know.  It  may  be  presumed,  that,  as 
Mr.  Pierpont  came  from  Massachusetts,  where  the  views  of 
the  synod  had  entirely  prevailed,  and  where  no  less  a  man 
than  Increase  Mather,  who  at  first  wrote  ably  against  the 
synod,  had  yielded  to  the  compound  force  of  numbers  and 
of  arguments,  and  had  gone  over  to  the  prevailing  opinion, — 
his  influence  was  not  exerted  against  the  introduction  of  the 
halfway  covenant  here. 

The  erection  of  a  new  meeting-house  had  been  resolved 
upon  in  the  year  1668,  immediately  after  Mr.  Davenport's  re- 
moval to  Boston ;  and  the  edifice,  after  some  delays,  had 
been  finished  in  1670.*  But  very  soon  after  the  ordination 


*  At  a  town  meeting,  7th  Sept.  1668,  tl  the  town  was  acquainted  that  the 
committee  for  the  meeting-house  had  agreed  with  Nathan  Andrews  to  build 
a  new  meeting-house  for  £300,  and  he  to  have  the  old  ineeting-house  ;  against 
which  no  man  objected."  A  year  afterwards,  it  was  "  ordered  that  if  Na- 
than Andrews  need  help  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  work  of  the  new  meet- 
ing-house according  to  agreement,  there  shall  be  liberty  to  press  such  help 
as  is  necessary  for  that  end."  At  a  meeting,  14th  March,  1670,  "  the  town 
was  informed  that  the  occasion  of  this  meeting  was  in  reference  to  the  new 
meeting-house,  it  going  on  but  slowly ;"  and  a  tax  was  laid  to  expedite  the 
work.  On  the  15th  of  April,  the  builder,  Nathan  Andrews,  made  a  commu- 
nication which  seems  to  have  resulted  in  some  modification  of  the  contract ; 
and  it  was  resolved  to  borrow  £50  of  the  trustees  of  the  Grammar  School, 
"  to  be  repaid  at  or  before  this  time  twelvemonth."  On  the  3d  of  October, 
"  the  committee  appointed  for  the  sealing  of  the  people  in  the  new  meeting- 
house, informed  the  town  that  they  had  prepared  something  that  way  for  a 
present  trial,  which  was  now  read  to  the  town."  On  the  14th  of  November, 
the  old  meeting-house  was  ordered  to  be  sold  "  to  the  town's  best  advantage." 

In  April,  1681,  "  there  being  a  bell  brought  in  a  vessel  into  the  harbor,  it 
was  spoken  of,  and  generally  it  was  desired  it  might  be  procured  for  the  town  ; 
and  fortlie  present  it  was  desired  that  Mr.  Thomas  Trowbridge  would,  if  he 
can,  prevail  with  Mr.  Hodge,  the  owner  of  it,  to  leave  it  with  him  until  the 
town  hath  had  some  further  consideration  about  it."  In  August,  "  the 
owner  of  the  bell  had  sent  to  have  it  brought  to  the  Bay  in  Joseph  Alsop's 
vessel ;"  '•  and  it  having  lain  so  long,  it  would  not  be  handsome  for  the  town 
to  put  it  off."  Thereupon,  "  after  a  free  and  large  debate,"  it  was  voted  that 
the  bell  be  purchased.  The  price  was  £17.  In  April,  1682,  the  town  was 
informed  that  the  bell  was  now  "  hanged  in  the  turret;"  and  in  November, 
the  townsmen  "  had  agreed  with  George  Pardee  for  his  son  Joseph  to  ring 
the  bell  for  the  town's  occasions  on  the  Sabbaths  and  other  meetings,  as  it 


179 

of  Mr.  Pierpout,  the  number  of  attendants  on  public  worship 
was  found  to  be  so  great,  that  enlarged  accommodations  were 
necessary.  The  first  step  was,  to  fill  up  some  empty  places 
with  seats ;  that  being  found  insufficient,  the  galleries  were 
brought  forward,  so  as  to  make  room  for  one  additional  seat 
in  front  of  each  gallery.  Ten  years  afterwards,  it  was  de- 
termined to  enlarge  the  house  itself;  but  the  determination 
was  not  carried  into  effect  till  two  years  later. 

In  the  year  1697,  another  great  change  was  made  in  the 
mode  of  supporting  the  ministry.  After  the  support  of  the 
ministry  was  transferred,  in  1677,  from  the  Church  to  the 
town,  it  had  been  customary,  from  year  to  year,  to  grant  a 
tax,  or  rate,  of  one,  two  or  three  pence  in  the  pound,  "  for 
the  encouragement  of  the  ministry ;"  and  the  avails  of  this 
tax,  whether  more  or  less,  belonged  to  the  minister  or  min- 
isters for  the  time  being.  But  now  a  regular  salary  was  pro- 
posed ;  and  "  after  a  long  debate,  the  town,  by  their  vote, 
granted  to  pay  the  Rev.  Mr.  James  Pierpont  annually,  while 
he  shall  preach  the  word  of  God  to  us,  the  sum  of  £120  in 
grain  and  flesh,"  at  fixed  prices,  "also  to  supply  him  with 
fire-wood  annually."  This  vote  being  communicated  to  Mr. 
Pierpont,  he  answered  that  he  approved  of  it  and  accepted  it, 
"  until  the  providence  of  God  should  bring  his  family  into 
such  circumstances  as  that  the  salary  would  not  support  him 
in  laboring  at  the  altar."  "  I  accept  it,"  he  said,  "  the  more 
willingly,  because  I  understand  the  offering  is  made  with  a 
general  cheerfulness,  wherein  God  himself  is  well  pleased, 
provided  that  due  care  be  taken  that  this  offering  be  brought 
into  the  house  of  God  without  lameness,  or  reflections  on  the 
ministry  in  the  respective  years."  The  hint  which  he  thought 
proper  to  give  in  accepting  the  grant,  was  not  an  unwise  one. 
The  minister  under  the  former  methods  of  support,  received 
from  year  to  year,  just  what  the  people  chose  to  give  him. 

was  wont  to  be  by  the  drum,  and  also  to  ring  the  bell  at  nine  of  the  clock 
every  night."  The  town  bell  was  to  be  sent  to  England  in  1686,  to  be  new- 
cast  and  made  bigger  for  the  town's  use.  Mr.  Simon  Eyre  offered  to  carry 
it  out  and  back  freight-free.  « 


180 

They  must  of  course  give  cheerfully.  He  had  no  legal  claim 
upon  them.  They  had  made  no  contract  with  him.  What- 
ever they  gave  was  simply  "  for  his  encouragement,"  and 
was  the  free  expression  of  their  confidence  and  love. 

One  of  the  first  persons  received  byMr.  Pierpont  to  the  full 
communion  of  the  Church,  was^an  aged  man,  known  here  by 
the  name  of  James  Davids.  He  had  come  to  this  place  not  far 
from  the  time  of  Mr.  Davenport's  removal.  There  was  that 
in  his  dress  and  manners,  in  his  great  acquaintance  with  the 
public  affairs  of  England  and  of  Europe,  and  in  his  obvious 
desire  of  retirement,  which  led  several  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent persons  in  the  town  to  regard  him,  from  the  first,  as 
one  of  those  whom  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy  had 
made  exiles  from  England,  and  whom  their  pastor  had  ex- 
horted them  beforehand  to  shelter  and  protect.  Mr.  Jones, 
in  particular,  recognized  him  as  one  of  King  Charles'  judges, 
whom,  in  his  youth,  he  had  often  seen  in  London  and  West- 
minster ;  but  with  him,  of  whose  fidelity  Whalley  and  Goffe 
had  made  so  full  an  experiment,  the  perilous  secret  was  safe. 
The  retired  stranger,  who  had  his  lodgings  with  Mr.  Ling, 
received  much  of  the  confidence  of  those  who  became  ac- 
quainted with  him.  He  was  twice  married ;  by  his  first  wife, 
the  widow  of  his  friend  Ling,  he  acquired  a  house  and  a  con- 
siderable property.  He  attended  to  some  little  business, 
which  gave  him  the  title  of  a  merchant,  and  sometimes  he 
aided  in  the  settlement  of  estates.  Mr.  Street  named  him  as 
one  of  his  executors.*  He  was  greatly  and  generally  re- 
spected, not  only  for  his  intelligence,  but  for  his  piety. 
After  his  death,  when  another  revolution  in  England  had 
placed  William  and  Mary  on  the  throne,  it  became  generally 
known  that  the  equivocal  initials  on  his  grave-stone,  "  J.  D. 
Esq."  designated  the  last  resting  place  of  John  Dixwell  the 
regicide.t 

In  no  respect,  did  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Pierpont  disappoint 
the  expectations  which  had  been  formed  concerning  him  in 

*  Probate  Records.  t  Stiles,  125—167. 


181 

his  youth.  Under  his  pastoral  care,  the  people  were  at  peace 
among  themselves.  As  his  prudence  and  amiableness,  when 
he  first  came  among  them,  were  the  means  of  bringing  them 
together  after  long  continued  and  painful  divisions,  they 
could  not  but  regard  him  as  a  benefactor ;  and,  through  all 
his  ministry,  they  gave  him  their  full  confidence  and  hearty 
veneration.  Their  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  that  while  he  la- 
bored here,  there  was  in  the  Church  much  of  true  and  living 
piety.  We  have  not  indeed  so  many  striking  accounts  of 
individuals  in  that  day,  as  we  have  of  those  in  the  preceding 
age  ;  but  we  know  that  the  piety  of  the  first  generation  could 
not  be  extinct  in  the  second.  We  know  too,  that  though 
declension  had  commenced  throughout  New  England,  there 
were  spirits  every  where  that  bewailed  the  declension,  and 
hungered  and  thirsted  for  the  days  of  old. 

The  progressive  religious  declension  of  those  times,  the 
worst  effects  of  which  were  felt  a  few  years  later,  resulted 
from  various  causes,  some  of  which  we  shall  do  well  to  notice. 

1.  There  had  now  been  formed  more  of  a  union  of  Church 
and  State,  than  had  existed  at  the  beginning.    At  first,  the 
Church  was  independent  of  the  State,  though  the  State  was 
not  entirely  independent  of  the  Church.     But  now  the  min- 
isters of  the  gospel  being  supported  by  the  towns  in  their 
civil  capacity,  and  the  government  taking  upon  itself  more 
and  more  the  care  not  only  of  morals,  but  of  religion  and 
religious  reformation,    religion  was  becoming   secularized. 
There  was  continually  less  dependence  upon  God,  and  the 
power  of  the  truth,  to  make  men  holy,  and  more  dependence 
upon  the  civil  magistrate,  to  make  them  put  on  the  form  of 
godliness. 

2.  The  operation  of  the  half-way  covenant  system  was 
doing  away  the  visible  distinction  between  the  Church  and 
the  world,  and  continually  diminishing  that  conviction  of  the 
necessity  of  spiritual  religion,  which  the  old  Puritans  left  so 
strongly  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  people.     Under 
this  system,  there  was  a  class  of  men,  making  no  pretension 
at  all  to  any  experience  of  the  renewing  influences  of  God's 


182 

grace,  and  entirely  neglecting  the  communion  of  the  Lord's 
table,  who  were  yet  religious  enough  to  be  in  covenant  with 
God  and  with  his  people,  and  to  give  their  children  to  God  in 
baptism. 

3.  That  sort  of  theology  in  which  the  half-way  covenant 
system  had,  in  part,  its  origin,  was  continually  exerting, 
unobserved,  an  influence  unfavorable  to  spiritual  religion. 
There  is  a  sort  of  theology,  nearly  allied  in  its  shape  and 
statements  to  the  truth,  and  ever  ready  to  creep  into  orthodox 
Churches  while  men  sleep,  which,  while  it  recognizes  in 
form  the  necessity  of  spiritual  renovation,  feels  that  the  un- 
regenerate  man  is  not  to  be  blamed  much  for  being  unregen- 
erate  merely,  or  at  least  forgets  that  the  sin  of  living  without 
God  and  without  a  vital  union  to  Christ,  is  the  root  and  es- 
sence of  all  other  sins,  and  is  itself  the  very  sin  which  brings 
the  wrath  of  God  forever  upon  him  who  does  not  forsake  it. 
That  theology  which, — feeling  that  if  the  natural  man  uses 
the  means  of  grace,  and  keeps  within  the  bounds  of  outward 
morality  and  good  order,  he  is  doing  all,  or  about  all  that  he 
can  do, — hesitates  to  urge  home  upon  him  the  practicability 
and  duty  of  immediate  reconciliation  to  God,  is  ever  fruitful 
in  expedients  to  make  matters  easy  with  those  well  edu- 
cated and  respectable  people,  who  love  the  world  and  the 
things  that  are  in  the  world,  more  than  they  love  God.  Such 
theology  had  crept  into  New  England  before  the  synod  of 
1662.  Such  theology  is  the  basis  of  its  famous  proposi- 
tions touching  the  subjects  of  baptism,  and  of  every  argument 
that  was  urged  in  defense  of  the  scheme.  In  opposition  to 
all  those  arguments,  Mr.  Davenport  maintained  that  "  worldly 
mindedness  whereby  men  forsake  and  reject  God  and  his 
covenant,  to  serve  the  world,"  was  of  itself  an  offense  suffi- 
cient to  debar  all  half-way  covenanters  from  offering  their 
children  in  baptism.  " The  religion  of  such,"  said  he,  "is 
no  better  than  that  of  the  Shechemites  who  took  upon  them 
the  religion  of  the  Jews,  and  were  circumcised,  only  for 
worldly  ends."*  In  the  same  strain,  his  good  colleague,  Mr. 

*  Another  Essay,  &c.,  24. 


183 

Street,  argued,  "that  such  as  have  been  baptized  in  the 
Church,  and  have  lived  under  precious  means  and  great  light, 
until  they  are  married  and  have  children,  and  all  this  while 
have  neglected  the  main  thing  that  doth  concern  them,  which 
is,  to  believe,  and  upon  their  believing,  personally  and  for 
themselves  to  take  hold  of  the  covenant,  are  under  very  great 
sin  and  offense,"*  sufficient  to  exclude  them,  notwithstand- 
ing their  own  baptism  in. infancy,  from  all  Church  privileges. 
The  operation  of  the  half-way  covenant  was,  to  propagate 
and  confirm  the  bad  theology  in  which  it  originated ;  and 
that  bad  theology,  as  it  grew,  promoted  religious  declension. 
It  was  indeed  as  Mr.  Street  said,  "  an  uncouth  way,  and  very 
unpleasant  divinity." 

4.  Besides  the  demoralizing  effect  of  Indian  wars,  noticed 
in  another  connection,  there  was  the  constant  excitement  of 
great  political  agitations  and  changes,  and  the  constant  fear  of 
losing  all  their  dearly  acquired  liberties.  These  excitements 
and  fears  occupied  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  combined 
with  other  influences  to  hinder  the  prosperity  of  religion. 
After  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy,  the  whole  British  em- 
pire was,  for  a  long  course  of  years,  in  a  state  of  alarm  and 
distrust,  and  in  the  almost  constant  expectation  of  great  and 
disastrous  changes.  Towards  the  close  of  the  reign  of  King 
Charles  II,  the  government  made  an  attack  on  all  the  great 
municipal  corporations  of  the  kingdom,  hating  them  as  cita- 
dels of  protestantism,  and  as  examples  of  that  freedom  which 
it  was  determined  to  suppress.  The  charter  of  the  city  of 
London,  after  a  formal  trial  and  a  most  able  defense,  was 
taken  away  and  declared  to  be  forfeited,  by  a  judgment  of 
the  court  of  king's  bench.  Most  of  the  other  great  towns  of 
England,  in  like  manner,  fell  before  the  march  of  usurpation. 
Their  charters  were  resumed;  their  democratic  privileges 
were  annihilated ;  and  they  became,  by  the  new  constitu- 
tions that  were  given  them,  mere  dependencies  of  the  king. 

*  Considerations,  &c.,  68. 


184 

All  this  while,  Edward  Randolph,  the  steady  and  invete- 
rate enemy  of  New  England,  was  indefatigable  in  his  efforts 
to  destroy  by  the  same  process  the  charters  of  the  colonies. 
What  days  of  fear  were  those  for  the  people  of  New  Eng- 
land !  If  their  charters  were  taken  away, — if  they  were  re- 
duced to  that  abject  dependence  on  the  crown,  to  which  their 
enemies  designed  to  bring  them,  every  thing  that  they  loved 
and  valued  would  be  gone,  and  the  great  ends  for  which 
these  colonies  were  planted  would  be  defeated.  Meanwhile 
all  minds  were  perplexed,  and  all  hearts  troubled,  with  tales 
of  popish  plots,  and  the  dread  of  popish  ascendency. 

In  1684,  the  base,  profligate,  traitorous  Charles  II,  died, 
seeking  at  the  hands  of  popish  priests  some  consolation  amid 
the  terrors  of  his  death  bed.  He  was  succeeded  by  James 
II,  his  brother,  a  little  less  profligate,  and  not  a  little  less  plia- 
ble, who  had  been  for  years  a  conscientious,  and  therefore  a 
bigotted  papist.  Immediately  a  new  government  was  ap- 
pointed over  Massachusetts,  the  charter  of  that  colony  having 
been  taken  away  by  a  judicial  sentence.  In  December,  1686, 
Sir  Edmund  Andross,  who  had  previously  been  governor  of 
New  York,  and  who  in  that  capacity  had  been  known  as  of 
an  arbitrary  and  selfish  temper,  landed  at  Boston  with  a  com- 
mission from  James  II,  as  governor  of  New  England ;  and 
soon  Massachusetts  began  to  know  what  it  was  to  be  gov- 
erned by  a  tyrant.  Randolph  was  made  censor  of  the  press. 
Nothing  could  be  printed  but  with  his  license.  The  people 
were  threatened  that  none  but  Episcopal  ministers  should  be 
allowed  to  join  persons  in  marriage.  One  of  the  meeting 
houses  in  Boston  was  occupied,  against  the  remonstrance  of 
those  who  owned  it,  for  the  service  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. The  appointment  of  a  day  of  public  prayer,  by  several 
Churches  in  concert,  was  interfered  with  by  the  governor, 
who  told  them  that  they  should  meet  at  their  peril,  and  that 
his  soldiers  should  guard  the  doors  of  their  meeting  houses, 
to  keep  them  away.-  The  witness  in  a  court,  was  compelled 
to  swear  by  the  superstitious  and  unbecoming  form  of  kissing 
a  book ;  and  any  that  scrupled  the  lawfulness  of  so  doing. 


185 

were  fined  and  imprisoned.  There  was  but  one  judge  of 
probate  for  the  whole  province,  and  he  the  governor,  by 
whom,  and  by  his  clerks,  the  most  exorbitant  fees  were  ex- 
acted. All  deeds  and  titles  to  land  were  held  to  be  of  no 
value  ;  and  every  man  who  had  a  farm  or  a  house,  must  ac- 
quire a  new  title  from  the  governor,  which  was  not  to  be 
had  without  paying  for  it  roundly. 

In  Connecticut,  however,  the  free  government  under  the 
charter  continued  for  nearly  a  year  after  the  arrival  of  An- 
dross.  But  on  the  31st  of  October,  1687,  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  colony  being  in  session  at  Hartford,  Sir  Ed- 
mund Andross  appeared  at  the  head  of  a,  company  of  regular 
soldiers,  and  demanded  their  charter,  declaring  the  govern- 
ment under  it  to  be  dissolved.  The  governor  at  that  time 
was  Robert  Treat,  of  Milford,*  who  had  with  great  bravery 
and  ability  commanded  the  forces  of  the  colony  in  the  war 
with  Philip.  He  replied  to  the  demand  of  Andross ;  he  rep- 
resented the  labors,  and  sufferings,  and  the  expense,  by  which 
the  colonists  had  acquired  and  planted  the  country,  and  the 
blood  and  treasure  by  which  they  had  defended  it ;  he  ad- 
verted to  what  he  had  himself  done  and  suffered ;  he  spoke 
of  the  pain  with  which  they  must  surrender  privileges,  so 
dearly  bought,  and  so  long  enjoyed.  Evening  stole  over  the 
Assembly,  while  the  debate  was  prolonged.  The  invaluable 
charter, — invaluable  to  them  in  their  weakness  and  inability 
to  assert  their  inalienable  liberties, — was  brought  in,  and  laid 
upon  the  table,  soon  to  be  formally  surrendered.  A  multitude 
of  the  people  had  assembled,  and  were  beholding,  with  stern 
countenances,  that  sad  spectacle,  the  extinction  of  their  lib- 
erty. Suddenly  the  lights  are  extinguished  j  there  is  no 
confusion,  no  rash  of  the  multitude,  no  uproar, — but  when, 
after  a  moment  of  darkness,  the  candles  are  lighted  again, 
the  charter  has  vanished.  No  discovery  could  be  made  of  it, 


*  The  fact  is  creditable  to  the  old  New  Haven  colony,  that  it  gave  to  Con- 
necticut two  governors  in  succession,  after  the  death  of  Gov.  Winthrop. 
The  two  were  Leete,  and  Treat. 

24 


186 

or  of  the  hands  by  which  it  had  been  carried  away.*  An- 
dross,  unable  to  clutch  the  precious  document,  was  obliged  to 
content  himself  with  the  simple  suppression  of  the  free  gov- 
ernment, and  a  declaration  that  the  colony  was  annexed  to 
Massachusetts.  His  procedure  was  formally  entered  in  the 
records,  and  "  FINIS"  was  written  at  the  bottom.  Then 
Connecticut  came  under  the  same  rule  with  New  Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts,  and  Plymouth.  Randolph  in  one  of 
his  letters  boasted,  that  Andross  and  his  council  "  were  as 
arbitrary  as  the  great  Turk."  Every  thing  was  done  on  the 
principle  that  the  spoils  belong  to  the  victors  ;  and  all  who 
saw  the  paralysis  of  industry  and  enterprise,  and  the  gloom 
that  settled  down  upon  so  many  villages,  felt  that  "when 
the  wicked  beareth  rule  the  people  moum."f 

But  in  April,  1689,  two  years  and  a  half  after  the  arrival 
of  Andross,  the  intelligence  came  to  Boston,  that  William, 
the  prince  of  Orange,  had  landed  in  England  to  restore  the 
ancient  liberties  of  the  people.  Immediately,  without  wait- 
ing to  know  the  success  of  that  enterprise,  the  people  of  Bos- 
ton and  the  vicinity  rose  in  arms,  seized  the  royal  governor 
and  his  secretary,  put  them  in  prison,  and  called  their  old 
governor  and  his  council  to  resume  the  government.  On 
the  ninth  of  May,  at  the  usual  time  of  the  general  election  at 
Hartford,  the  charter  came  forth  from  its  concealment  in  the 
old  oak  before  the  Wyllys  house  ;  and  the  free  government 
of  Connecticut  was  reestablished  as  before  the  interruption. 

Amid  such  fluctuations  and  alarms, — such  excitements  of 
fear  and  hope  in  regard  to  secular  and  civil  interests, — how 


*  The  charter  was  carried  away  and  concealed  by  Capt.  Wadsworth  of 
Hartford.  After  the  revolution  in  England,  and  the  accession  of  William 
and  Mary,  as  the  charter  of  Connecticut  had  never  been  formally  surren- 
dered, and  as  no  judgment  had  been  given  in  any  court  of  law  against  it,  it 
was  still  valid ;  and  while  Massachusetts  was  obliged  to  obtain  a  new  char- 
ter with  limited  privileges,  Connecticut  has  ever  enjoyed,  (with  the  sole  in- 
terruption of  nineteen  months  under  Andross,)  the  powers  of  self-govern- 
ment, as  perfectly  as  at  this  moment. 

t  Trumbull,  I,  355—375.  Dr.  Trumbull's  account  of  the  usurpation  of 
Andross,  is  one  of  the  ablest  passages  in  his  two  volumes. 


187 

could  religion  be  expected  so  to  revive,  as  to  throw  off  the 
oppression  of  other  incumbrances  ? 

In  those  days  of  slow  but  sure  declension  in  morals  and 
religion,  the  pastor  here  was  not  wanting  in  faithfulness  or 
in  wisdom.  He  was  greatly  respected  in  the  colony,  and 
was  among  the  foremost  of  the  ministers  in  every  underta- 
king for  the  common  welfare  of  the  churches. 

In  1692,  the  ministers  of  this  county  united  in  proposing 
to  the  several  towns  a  lecture  to  be  carried  on  in  the  several 
towns,  the  great  object  of  which  was,  "  to  further  religion 
and  reformation  in  these  declining  times."*  In  the  same 
year,  we  find  that  there  was  a  quarterly  -meeting  of  the  min- 
isters for  some  public  purpose,  which  Mr.  Pierpont  was  to  at- 
tend, and  in  attending  upon  which  he  was  to  be  provided 
with  a  man  and  horse  at  the  town's  charge. 

The  efforts  at  reformation  in  that  age,  throughout  New 
England,  seem  to  have  been  characterized  by  too  much  reli- 

*  The  entire  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  New  Haven  town  meeting 
in  respect  to  the  proposal  for  a  lecture,  deserves  to  be  copied  ;  for  it  illus- 
trates both  the  state  of  morals,  and  the  expedients  adopted  for  promoting  re- 
formation. 

"  At  an  adjournment  of  the  town  meeting,  the  2d  day  of  May,  1692. 

"  A  proposal  in  writing,  presented  from  the  Rev.  Elders  of  this  county,  for 
a  lecture  to  be  carried  on  in  the  several  towns,  was  read  and  thankfully  ac- 
cepted, and  the  conditions  thereof  well  approved  :  and  accordingly  [it  was] 
by  the  town  seriously  recommended  to  the  authority,  town  officers,  and  heads 
of  families,  to  take  the  utmost  care  they  can  to  prevent  all  disorders,  espe- 
cially on  lecture  days ;  and  particularly,  that  there  be  no  horse-racings  on 
such  days,  it-  being  a  great  disorder.  And  the  heads  of  families  are  also^to 
take  care  that  none  of  their  children  or  servants  be  allowed  or  suffered 
to  frequent  the  ordinary  or  ordinaries,  or  any  private  houses  for  tippling, 
neither  with  strangers  or  others,  on  such  lecture  days,  upon  penalty  of  the 
law. 

"  The  town  unanimously  voted  the  above  written  as  their  mind,  and  desired 
their  hearty  thanks  to  be  returned  to  the  Rev.  Elders  for  their  pious  and  great 
care  to  further  religion  and  reformation  among  us,  IN  THESE  DECLINING 
TIMES.  Voted  nemine  contradicentc." 

Young  people  making  their  attendance  on  the  services  of  a  lecture  day  a 
pretext  for  horse-racing  and  tippling !  And  this  so  common,  that  the  propo- 
sal to  set  up  a  new  lecture  must  needs  be  guarded  by  proceedings  in  town 
meeting  "  to  prevent  disorders  !"  No  wonder  they  talked  with  emphasis 
of  "  these  declining  times." 


188 

ance  on  the  formal  movements  of  public  bodies,  whether  re- 
ligious, as  synods,  councils  and  Churches,  or  secular,  as  legis- 
latures, county  courts  and  town  meetings ;  and  by  too  little 
dependence  on  the  power  of  God  in  the  spiritual  renovation 
of  individuals.  The  "reforming  synod"  of  1679,  with  the 
expedients  which  it  recommended — the  many  similar  efforts 
by  smaller  conventions  of  ministers — the  orders  of  courts  and 
magistrates  for  the  suppression  of  vice,  or  for  the  promotion 
of  religion  and  reformation — the  setting  up  of  lectures — the 
votes  of  towns — and  most  of  all,  the  efforts  to  get  every  body 
"  within  the  reach  of  ecclesiastical  discipline" — were  of  little 
avail.  Good  men  saw  the  progressive  declension,  and  be- 
wailed it ;  but  there  was  no  reviving  and  restoring  energy.* 

In  the  year  1698,  Mr.  Pierpont,  in  connection  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Andrew  of  Milford  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Russel  of  Bran- 
ford,  concerted  the  plan  of  founding  a  college  ;f  or  rather  they 
revived  the  design  which  lay  so  long  upon  the  heart  of  Dav- 
enport, and  upon  which  he  expended  so  many  earnest  efforts, 
but  the  completion  of  which  it  was  not  given  him  to  see 
in  this  world.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  those  three  men, 
contriving  the  establishment  of  a  college  for  Connecticut,  in- 
tended that  it  should  be  established  in  New  Haven ;  but  they 
were  magnanimous  and  wise  enough  not  to  connect  the  de- 
sign, at  its  first  proposal,  with  any  particular  location.  By 
much  deliberation  among  themselves,  and  much  consultation 
with  others  in  various  parts  of  the  colony,  their  plan  was 
gradually  matured ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  following  year, 


*  See  Mather's  whole  chapter  on  the  Reforming  Synod.  Magn.  Book  V, 
Part  IV.  See  also  Trumbull,  I,  467.  A  specimen  of  the  interference  of 
county  courts  with  expedients  for  religious  reformation,  is  found  in  the  New 
Haven  County  Records,  under  the  date  of  Nov.  8, 1676. 

"  The  County  Court,  being  sensible  of  a  hopeful  advantage  to  the  further- 
ance of  religion  and  reformation,  by  settling  an  able  lecture  where  it  might 
be  aptest  and  of  the  greatest  concourse  to  attend  the  same,  do  recommend  it, 
and  desire  the  Rev.  Mr.  Elliot  to  begin  a  monthly  lecture  at  New  Haven  the 
first  Wednesday  in  March  next,  and  so  continue  until  this  Court  shall  ap- 
point some  other  to  succeed." 

t  Trumbull,  1,473. 


189 

ten  of  the  principal  ministers  in  the  colony  were  designated 
by  the  common  consent  of  those  most  interested,  to  stand  as 
trustees  for  founding  and  governing  the  institution.  In  1700, 
those  ministers  met  in  this  place,  and  formally  organized 
themselves  into  a  body  or  society  to  found  a  college  in  Con- 
necticut. The  institution  thus  begun  was  temporarily  placed 
at  Saybrook,  and  had  no  settled  habitation  till  it  was  removed 
to  this  place  in  the  year  1716.* 

The  activity  of  Mr.  Pierpont,  as  one  of  the  original  trus- 
tees of  Yale  College,  is  evident  not  only  from  the  early  rec- 
ords of  the  institution,  but  also  from  letters  written  to  him 
by  the  agent  for  the  colony  in  London,  .whose  good  offices 
he  had  secured  in  aid  of  that  favorite  undertaking.  His  in- 
fluence seems  to  have  been  employed,  in  directing  towards 
the  college  the  regards  of  that  benefactor,  whose  name  it  has 
made  immortaLf 

In  1708,  a  synod,  or  general  council  of  the  Churches  of 
Connecticut,  was  held  at  the  College  in  Saybrook,  by  order 
of  the  legislature,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  system  that 
should  better  secure  the  ends  of  church  discipline,  and  the 
benefits  of  communion  among  the  Churches.  The  meeting 

*  Kingsley's  History  of  Yale  College. 

t  The  following  paragraph  is  part  of  a  letter  to  Mr.  Pierpont,  by  Jeremiah 
Dummer,  Jun.,  then  agent  in  London  for  the  colony  of  Connecticut.  The 
date  is  «  London,  22d  May,  1711." 

"  Here  is  Mr.  Yale,  formerly  Governor  of  Fort  George  in  the  Indies,  who 
has  got  a  prodigious  estate,  and  now  by  Mr.  Dixwell  sends  for  a  relation  of 
his  from  Connecticut  to  make  him  his  heir,  having  no  son.  He  told  me 
lately,  that  he  intended  to  bestow  a  charity  upon  some  college  in  Oxford, 
under  certain  restrictions  which  he  mentioned.  But  I  think  he  should  much 
rather  do  it  to  your  college,  seeing  he  is  a  New  England  and  I  think  a  Con- 
necticut man.  If  therefore  when  his  kinsman  comes  over,  you  will  write 
him  a  proper  letter  on  that  subject,  I  will  take  care  to  press  it  home." 

In  another  letter,  23d  January,  1712,  he  speaks  of  begging  for  College,  and 
of  having  "  got  together  a  pretty  parcel  of  books." 

In  another  letter,  dated  Whitehall,  3d  May,  1713,  he  says,  "  The  library 
I  am  collecting  for  your  College  comes  on  well.  Sir  Richard  Blackmore  (to 
whom  I  delivered  the  committee's  letter)  brought  me,  in  his  own  chariot, 
all  liis  works,  in  four  volumes  folio;  and  Mr.  Yale  has  done  something, 
though  very  little  considering  his  estate  and  his  relation  to  the  colony." 


190 

of  that  synod  marks  an  important  era  in  our  ecclesiastical 
history. 

For  a  long  time,  indeed  from  the  first,  there  had  been  in 
New  England  some  influential  ministers,*  who  disliked  what 
was  deemed  the  looseness  and  inefficiency  of  Congregation- 
alism, and  were  solicitous  to  introduce,  as  fast  as  the  people 
would  bear  it,  something  more  like  the  Presbyterian  system. 
Not  a  few  political  men  too,  were  in  favor  of  some  departure 
from  the  primitive  platform,  which  did  not  seem  to  work 
well,  while  all  were  seeking  to  complete  the  alliance  between 
the  Churches  and  the  State.  And  in  truth  simple  Congrega- 
tionalism is,  in  its  nature,  very  difficult  to  be  wrought  into  a 
convenient  and  compact  ecclesiastical  establishment.  Where 
each  particular  Church  is  recognized  as  a  complete  and  self- 
subsistent  body,  with  no  constitution  but  the  Bible,  and  no 
legislation  over  it  but  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  no  easy  matter 
to  reduce  the  Churches  into  a  complete  subjection  to  the 
civil  power,  or  to  incorporate  the  ecclesiastical  organization 
with  the  organization  of  the  commonwealth.  Protracted  ex- 
perience had  taught  the  leading  politicians  of  Connecticut, 
that  their  legislative  intermeddlings  with  ecclesiastical  quar- 
rels, whether  local  or  general,  whether  by  clerical  councils 
or  by  lay  committees,  was  of  little  avail.  The  religious  es- 
tablishment of  the  colony, — the  propriety  or  policy  of  which, 
in  the  abstract,  no  man  called  in  question, — was  felt  to  be 
defective  without  another  ecclesiastical  constitution. 

At  the  same  time,  it  is  true  that  the  system  under  which 
the  Churches  had  been  organized  was  in  some  respects  im- 
perfect. The  communion  and  mutual  helpfulness  of  the 
Churches  was  not  adequately  secured.  Light  is  obtained  by 
conference,  and  love  is  promoted  by  fraternal  consultation  j 
but  there  had  been  no  provision  for  the  stated  consultation 
of  ministers  with  each  other,  in  order  to  their  mutual  im- 
provement j  nor  was  there  sufficient  opportunity  for  Churches 


*  Mr.  Parker  and  Mr.  Noyes,  the  first  pastor  and  teacher  of  the  Church  in 
Newbury,  were  decided  in  favor  of  the  Presbyterian  discipline. 


191 

to  confer  together  by  their  officers  and  messengers,  on  mat- 
ters of  common  interest,  in  order  to  their  seeing  alike  and 
acting  harmoniously.  There  was  no  uniform  method  of  in- 
troducing candidates  for  the  ministry,  to  the  work  of  preach- 
ing for  the  trial  of  their  qualifications.  When  a  young  man 
aspiring  to  the  sacred  office  had  finished  his  studies  at  Col- 
lege, he  was  commonly  introduced  into  the  pulpit  first  by  his 
own  pastor,  or  his  instructor,  or  some  other  friend,  and  grad- 
ually found  his  way  to  the  acquaintance  and  confidence  of 
the  Churches,  without  any  formal  examination,  or  any  cer- 
tificate of  approbation  from  an  organized  body  of  ministers. 
Such  a  way,  however  it  might  answer  the  purpose  when  the 
country  was  new,  was  not  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  commu- 
nity at  a  more  advanced  period. 

Of  the  synod  at  Saybrook,  Mr.  Pierpont  was  a  leading 
member.  The  "  Articles  for  the  administration  of  Church 
Discipline,"  which  were  adopted  as  the  result  of  the  synod, 
and  which  constitute  the  so  famous  "  Saybrook  Platform," 
are  said  to  have  been  drawn  up  by  him.*  By  the  order  of 
the  legislature,  the  ministers  and  delegates  in  each  county, 
at  the  preliminary  meeting  at  which  their  representatives 
were  to  be  chosen  for  the  General  Council,  were  "  to  con- 
sider and  agree  upon  those  methods  and  rules  for  the  man- 
agement of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  which  by  them  should 
be  judged  conformable  to  the  word  of  God ;"  and  the  duty 
of  the  General  Council  was,  to  "  compare  the  results  of  the 
ministers  of  the  several  counties,  and  out  of  and  from  them 
to  draw  a  form  of  ecclesiastical  discipline."  The  "Articles," 
by  whomsoever  penned,  were  obviously  a  compromise  be- 
tween the  Presbyterian  interest  and  the  Congregational ;  and 
like  most  compromises,  they  were  (I  do  not  say  by  design) 
of  doubtful  interpretation.  Interpreted  by  a  Presbyterian, 
they  might  seem  to  subject  the  Churches  completely  to  the 

*  Stiles,  Serm.  on  Chris.  Union,  70.  See  also  Dwight,  Life  of  Ed.,  113, 
where  it  is  also  stated,  that  Mr.  Pierpont  read  lectures  to  the  students  in  Yale 
College,  as  professor  of  Moral  Philosophy.  This  is  possible,  though  the  Col- 
lege was  not  removed  from  Saybrook  till  after  Mr.  Pierpont's  death.  A  son 
of  his,  bearing  the  same  name,  was  tutor  from  1722  to  1724. 


192 

authoritative  government  of  classes  or  presbyteries,  under 
the  name  of  consociations.  Interpreted  by  a  Congregation- 
alist,  they  might  seem  to  provide  for  nothing  more  than  a  sta- 
ted council,  in  which  neighboring  Churches,  voluntarily  con- 
federate, should  consult  together,  and  the  proper  function  of 
which  should  be  not  to  speak  imperatively,  but,  when  regu- 
larly called,  to  "  hold  forth  light"  in  cases  of  difficulty  or  per- 
plexity. The  Churches,  though  they  gradually  came  into 
the  arrangement,  were  jealous  of  it ;  and  in  this  county, 
where  the  influence  of  Davenport  in  favor  of  the  simplest 
and  purest  Congregationalism  was  still  felt,  they  refused  to 
adopt  the  Platform  till  they  had  put  upon  record  their  strict 
construction  of  it.*  For  the  first  half  century  or  more,  the 
Saybrook  Platform  made  more  quarrels  than  it  healed.  But 
in  later  years,  the  Congregational  construction  of  its  articles 
having  become  established  by  general  usage,  its  working  has 
been  in  a  high  degree  salutary.  Under  this  system,  more 
than  under  any  other,  ministers  and  Churches  are  continually 
promoting  each  other's  peace  and  strength-! 

Mr.  Pierpont  died  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  on  the 
14th  of  November,  1714,  at  the  age  of  fifty  five  years.  His 
grave  is  one  of  those  which  are  covered  by  this  edifice.J 

*  Records  of  Consociation. 

t  The  history  of  the  synod  of  Saybrook  is  given  by  Trumbull,  in  its  de- 
tails, I,  478—488. 

t  Mr.  Pierpont  was  of  the  younger  branch  of  a  noble  family  in  England. 
It  is  believed,  though  the  necessary  legal  proof  appears  to  be  wanting,  that 
his  son  was  the  heir  to  the  estates,  and  the  now  extinct  title,  of  the  earls  of 
Kingston.  Mr.  P.  married  Abigail  Davenport,  a  grand-daughter  of  his  prede- 
cessor in  the  pastoral  office,  on  the  27th  of  October,  1691.  A  little  more  than 
three  months  afterwards,  on  the  3d  of  February,  his  wife  was  taken  from 
him  by  death.  She  died,  as  tradition  tells  us,  of  a  consumption  caused  by 
exposure  to  the  cold  on  the  Sabbath  after  her  wedding,  going  to  meeting  ac- 
cording to  the  fashion  of  the  time  in  her  bridal  dress.  Two  years  afterwards,- 
he  was  married  at  Hartford  to  Sarah  Haynes,  a  grand-daughter  of  Governor 
Haynes,  "  by  Lt.  Col.  Allen,  Assistant,  the  30th  May,  1694."  On  the  7th  of 
October,  1696,  he  was  again  bereaved.  His  second  wife  left  one  daughter, 
who  bore  the  name  of  his  first  wife.  He  was  married  to  Mary  Hooker,  a 
grand-daughter  of  the  first  pastor  in  Hartford,  on  the  26th  July,  1698.  This 
lady,  who  survived  him  till  November,  1740,  was  the  mother  of  several  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom,  Sarah,  became  at  an  early  age  the  wife  of  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards, and  was  truly  "  a  help  meet  for  him." 


193 

That  he  was  greatly  distinguished  and  highly  honored  in 
his  day,  is  sufficiently  manifest.  His  particular  friend,  Cot- 
ton Mather,  says  of  him  in  the  preface  to  a  sermon  which  he 
had  preached  at  Boston,  in  Mather's  pulpit,  and  which  was 
published  at  the  request  of  the  hearers, — He  "  has  been  a  rich 
blessing  to  the  Church  of  God."  "  New  Haven  values  him  ; 
all  Connecticut  honors  him.  They  have  cause  to  do  it." 
That  we  are  not  able  to  form  so  lively  an  idea  of  him  as  of 
Davenport,  is  partly  because  his  life  was  shorter,  and  was  less 
involved  in  scenes  of  conflict,  and  partly,  no  doubt,  because 
his  nature  and  the  early  discipline  of  Divine  providence, 
had  less  fitted  him  to  make  himself  conspicuous  by  the  origi- 
nality and  energy  of  his  character,  and  to  leave  his  image 
stamped  with  ineffaceable  distinctness  on  the  records  of  his 
times. 

In  the  pulpit,  Mr.  Pierpont  was  distinguished  among  his 
cotemporaries.  His  personal  appearance  was  altogether  pre- 
possessing. He  was  eminent  in  the  gift  of  prayer.*  His 
doctrine  was  sound  and  discriminating ;  and  his  style  was 
clear,  lively  and  impressive,  without  any  thing  of  the  affected 
quaintness  which  characterized  some  of  the  most  eminent 
men  of  that  day. 


*  If  the  following  sentence  in  one  of  Dummer's  letters  to  Mr.  Pierpont,  be 
called  a  compliment,  it  should  be  remembered  that  Dummer  would  not  be 
likely  to  make  such  a  compliment  at  random.  "  That  little  composure  of 
Mr.  Henry's  about  prayer,  I  the  rather  pitched  upon,  because  he  is  as  re- 
nowned for  his  gift  in  prayer  in  Great  Britain,  as  1  know  you  have  always 
been  in  New  England." 

In  President  Stiles'  Literary  Diary,  (MS.)  Sept.  25,  1777,  I  find  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  Rev.  Daniel  Rogers,  set.  70  et  supra  told  me,  it  was  remarked  of 
Mr.  Cobbet,  anciently  a  minister  of  Ipswich,  (Mr.  Rogers'  native  place,)  that 
he  was  eminent  for  free  prayer — that  the  first  ministers  of  New  England, 
though  they  did  not  pray  ex  libro,  yet  went  into  each  one  his  own  form  which 
he  pursued  with  but  little  variation  :  and  that  it  was  a  remark,  that  the  min- 
isters of  this  century,  and  the  present  pastors,  surpassed  those  of  the  last  cen- 
tury with  respect  to  free  prayer.  But  I  think  for  clear  evangelical  divinity 
they  do  not  equal  them." 

Cotton  Mather  gives,  somewhere,  a  similar  testimony  ;  but  I  am  not  able, 
now,  to  turn  to  the  passage. 

25 


194 

The  only  specimen  of  his  preaching  that  remains  to  us,  is 
the  published  sermon  already  mentioned.  That  sermon  is 
from  the  text,  (Psalm  cxix,  116,)  "  Uphold  me  according  to 
thy  word,  that  I  may  live  ;  and  let  me  not  be  ashamed  of  my 
hope  ;"  and,  though  it  falls  short  of  the  originality  and  intel- 
lectual vigor  which  mark  the  performances  of  Davenport,  it 
proves  sufficiently  that  its  author's  eminence  was  not  acci- 
dental. It  discusses  one  of  the  most  common,  though  ever 
one  of  the  most  serious  and  interesting  subjects, — "  False 
hopes  of  heaven ;"  and  the  views  which  it  presents,  are  the 
same  views  which  are  habitually  urged  upon  you.  That 
you  may  judge  for  yourselves  as  to  the  matter  and  style  of 
his  preaching,  I  transcribe  a  few  passages. 

"  Whatever  other  regards  we  bear  and  manifest  to  Jesus 
Christ,  this  only  and  mighty  Savior,  if  we  have  not  faith  in 
him,  the  root  of  our  hope  as  well  as  other  graces,  all  our 
flourishing  hopes  of  a  future  happiness  will  fall  and  fly  from 
us,  as  leaves  in  autumn.  Nothing  can  be  more  express  and 
positive,  than  what  the  Author  of  everlasting  life  has  with 
his  own  sacred  lips  uttered,  John,  iii,  36 :  'He  that  believeth 
not  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life :  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
on  him.'  The  tremendous  effusion  of  divine  wrath  is  sus- 
pended for  a  few  fleeting,  uncertain  moments ;  when  they 
are  run  out,  it  shall  be  inevitably  showered  down  upon  every 
one  that  believeth  not  in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son 
of  God.  See  also,  John,  viii,  24 :  '  For  if  ye  believe  not  that 
I  am  he,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins ;'  and  so  die  without  hope, 
perish  for  ever,  in  the  want  of  a  Christ,  and  faith  in  him. 
You  may  observe  what  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  most 
plainly  and  solemnly  offers  on  this  head,  2  Cor.  xiii,  5 :  '  Ex- 
amine yourselves,  whether  ye  be  in  the  faith ;  prove  your  own 
selves :  Know  ye  not  your  own  selves  ?'  (q.  d.  ye  know  no- 
thing as  Christians,  if  ye  know  not  this  great  truth,)  'how 
that  Christ  Jesus  is  in  you,'  (viz.  by  faith,  apprehending  him, 
and  deriving  grace  and  strength  from  him  into  your  souls,) 
'  except  ye  be  reprobates :'  i.  e.  in  the  state  of  the  ungodly,  and 


195 

in  the  way  that  leads  to  final  despair  and  everlasting  destruc- 
tion." 

"  Great  hazards  are  much  to  be  feared,  and  imminent  dan- 
gers are  greatly  to  be  deprecated ;  our  danger  of  resting  in 
ill-grounded  hopes,  is  inconceivably  great. 

1.  From  our  natural  strong  propension  most  fondly  to  em- 
brace hope,  let  the  kinds  or  grounds  thereof  be  as  they  are. 
If  hope  be  but  deferred,  it  makes  the  heart  sick ;  but  if  hope 
be  cut  off,  we  hasten  to  die.     Who  of  us  would  be  content 
to  breathe  an  hour  longer,  if  we  had  no  hope  for  this  or  a  fu- 
ture life  ? 

2.  From  a  criminal  slightiness  in  the  grounds  of  our  hope 
for  future  blessedness,  which  we  are  sadly  incident  to.     Too 
many  of  us  content  ourselves  with  hopes  of  going  to  heaven 
when  we  die,  which  have  not  so  much  as  a  shadow  of  good 
grounds.     The  reason  of  such  persons'  hope,  if  plainly  ren- 
dered, would  appear  most  inconsistent  with  this  Word,  and 
with  good  reason  itself.    Deut.  xxix,  19 :  { I  shall  have  peace, 
though  I  walk  in  the  imagination  of  mine  heart.' 

3.  From  inordinate  self-love,  and  from  thence  self-flattery. 
When  in  our  first  apostacy,  we  left  God,  and  lost  our  good 
affection  to  him,  we  then  fell  into  a  criminal  love  of  our- 
selves.    When  we  desisted  adoring  and  praising  our  glorious 
Maker,  we  then  began  fondly  to  admire  and  flatter  ourselves  : 
hence  we  cannot  easily  be  brought  to  entertain  low  and  mean 
thoughts  of  ourselves,  or  to  realize  to  our  own  minds  the 
misery  we  are  naturally  exposed  to.     We  cannot  think  we 
are  enemies  to  God,  or  he  is  such  to  us- ward ;  we  know  not 
how  to  receive  it,   that  our  souls,  remaining  unconverted, 
shall  be  banished  from  the  presence  of  God,  from  the  expe- 
rience of  all  good ;  that  these  very  bodies  and  souls  shall  be 
ere  long  made  the  flaming  monuments  of  unutterable  and 
everlasting  wrath ;  that  a  gracious  God  and  our  merciful  Ma- 
ker can  ever  find  it  in  his  heart  to  show  us  no  mercy,  when 
with  bitter  outcries,  heart-breaking  shrieks,  wringing  hands, 
floods  of  tears,  and  bleeding  hearts,  we  shall  at  the  bar  of 
Justice  appeal  to  and  implore  his  infinite  commiseration. 


196 

Our  irregular  self-love  and  flattery  tell  us,  when  the  terrors  of 
God's  unappeasable  wrath  are  set  before  us,  '  These  things 
shall  not  be  unto  you !  We  hope  and  cannot  but  hope  better 
things  some  way  or  other  shall  happen  to  you.'  And  thus  we 
incline  '  to  flatter  ourselves,  until  our  iniquity  be  found  to  be 
hateful.'  Psalm  xxxvi,  2. 

4.  Our  dangers  herein  spring  also  from  the  mistaken  opin- 
ion, or  cologne  of  others  with  whom  we  converse.  We  live 
in  a  fawning,  flattering  world  ;  our  friends  and  neighbors, 
whatever  they  think,  may  speak  well  of  us,  nay,  oft-times 
much  better  than  we  have  deserved ;  and  it  may  be,  that 
they  might  the  more  easily  serve  themselves  and  their  inter- 
ests by  us :  whence  we  are  liable  to  take  up  a  good  opinion 
of  ourselves,  and  to  form  a  hope  we  are  as  good  as  they  re- 
port. Yea,  godly  people  and  able  ministers  of  the  gospel,  not 
knowing  our  hearts,  or  the  secrets  of  our  lives,  upon  many 
outward  appearances,  judge  well  of  us,  hold  us  in  reputation 
for  Christians,  nay,  for  shining  saints.  Whence  we  are  prone 
to  value  ourselves,  and  to  feed  up  hope,  that  we  are  the  wise 
virgins,  have  oil  enough  in  our  vessels,  and  shall  not  (on  the 
most  surprising  call)  fail  of  a  joyful  entrance  into  heaven; 
when  truly  the  way  of  peace  we  have  never  yet  known. 

5.  From  the  artifices  of  Satan,  that  crafty  seducer.     As 
he  goeth  about  like  a  roaring  lion,  seeking  by  many  vio- 
lences to  devour  men ;  so  he  crawls  as  a  sly  serpent,  de- 
signing men's  destruction,  by  innumerable  devices ;   among 
which,  he  doth  his  utmost  to  flatter  or  lull  silly  souls  into  an 
ill-grounded  hope  ;  persuading  them  they  are  in  the  safe  road 
to  heaven,  when  truly  they  are  sliding  down  apace  into  the 
dungeons  of  eternal  darkness  and  perdition. 

6.  From  the  tremendous  righteous  judgment  of  God,  our 
dangers  of  taking  up  with  false  hopes  of  heaven  may  arise. 
For  great  reasons  and  high  provocations,  God  doth  leave  some 
to  build  their  hopes  high,  who  are  the  children  of  greatest 
wrath.     Read  instances  hereof  with  much  fear  and  trem- 
bling: Isaiah,  vi,  9,  10.   2  Thess.  ii,  10,  11,  12.    'God  shall 


197 

send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  believe  a  lie, 
that  they  all  might  be  damned  who  believed  not  the  truth, 
but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness.'  "* 

Such  was  the  preaching  inculcated  upon  the  fathers  and 
predecessors  of  this  congregation,  five  generations  ago.  What- 
ever else  has  changed  since  then,  the  gospel  has  not  changed. 
You  are  witnesses  that  here  Christ  is  now  set  forth  as  the 
great  object  of  the  repenting  sinner's  faith, — Christ,  as  the 
sinner's  only  hope, — "  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever." 


*  The  title  of  the  pamphlet  from  which  these  specimens  are  taken,  is, 
"  Sundry  False  Hopes  of  Heaven,  discovered  and  decried.  In  a  sermon 
preached  at  the  North  Assembly  in  Boston,  3.  d.  4.  m.  1711.  By  James 
Pierpont,  M.  A.  Pastor  of  New  Haven  Church.  With  a  Preface  by  the 
Rd.  Dr.  Mather."—"  Boston  in  N.  E.  Printed  :  sold  by  T.  Green,  at  his  shop 
in  Middle  street.  1712." 


DISCOURSE   X. 

FROM    1714   TO    1740. —  JOSEPH    NOTES. "THE  GREAT    REVIVAL" 

OF    PRESIDENT    EDWARDs's    DAY. 

HABAKKUK,  iii,  2.    O  Lord,  revive  thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years. 

WE  come  now  to  a  portion  of  our  history  in  some  respects 
more  difficult  to  be  treated  than  any  which  we  have  hereto- 
fore examined.  The  age  which  succeeded  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  Pierpont,  was  an  age  of  more  controversy  in  the 
Churches,  of  greater  errors  and  extravagances,  of  fiercer 
contention,  and  of  more  alarming  agitation,  than  can  be 
found  in  any  other  period  of  the  history  of  New  England. 
In  all  the  emergencies  of  that  age,  our  predecessors  here  had 
their  full  share  of  agitation  and  of  peril.  And  though  the 
fires  which  then  burned  so  fiercely,  seem  to  have  burned 
out,  he  who  walks  among  the  ashes  needs  to  walk  circum- 
spectly, lest  he  tread  upon  embers  which  are  covered  indeed, 
but  not  extinguished.  The  grandchildren,  and  in  some  in- 
stances the  children,  of  those  who  acted  in  the  scenes  we  are 
now  to  review,  are  still  upon  the  stage ;  and  their  feelings 
towards  those  whom  they  regard  with  a  natural  veneration, 
may  not  be  rudely  invaded.  Another  Church,  now  happily 
associated  with  this  so  intimately  as  hardly  to  be  another, 
came  into  being  here  amid  those  convulsions  ;  and  to  enter 
into  that  history,  to  trace  the  errors  of  one  party  and  of  the 
other,  however  impartial  the  design,  and  however  beneficial 
the  legitimate  tendency,  may  be  dangerous,  if  there  is  any 
lack  of  discretion  on  the  part  of  the  speaker,  or  of  candor  on 
the  part  of  the  hearers. 

The  age  of  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Pierpont,  has  already  been 
described,  as  an  age  of  gradual  declension  throughout  New 
England.  Some  of  the  causes  of  the  declension  have  been 
pointed  out — causes  which,  though  continually  counteracted 
by  the  ability  and  faithfulness  of  the  great  body  of  the  min- 


199 

isters,  were  perpetually  working  to  secularize  the  Churches, 
and  to  demoralize  society.  The  same  causes  continued  to 
work  through  the  following  age,  and  had  much  to  do  with 
the  contentions  arid  disasters  that  accompanied  or  followed 
what  is  so  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  great  revival  of  1742. 

The  Church  was  not  long  vacant  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Pierpont,  which  took  place  in  November,  1714.  On  the  first 
of  July,  in  the  following  year,  "  at  a  meeting  of  the  First 
Society,"  which  is  the  first  meeting  on  record  under  that 
name,* — "after  some  discourse,  the  votes  were  brought  in, 
in  writing,  to  nominate  a  man  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the 
ministry  on  probation."  In  this  proceeding,  an  omen  appears 
of  what  was  to  follow.  The  people  were  divided  in  their 
preferences.  "  Mr.  Joseph  Noyes  was  chosen  by  the  major 
vote,  he  having  eighty  six  votes,  and  Mr.  Cooke  forty  five 
votes."  Mr.  Cooke,  the  opposing  candidate,  was  afterwards 
pastor  of  the  Church  in  Stratfield,  now  Bridgeport,  and  be- 
came somewhat  distinguished  in  the  conflicts  of  the  age,  as 
a  zealous  opponent  of  the  party  with  which  Mr.  Noyes  was 
identified.  It  may  be  presumed,  that  when  they  were  both 
young,  and  the  preferences  of  the  people  of  New  Haven  were 
divided  between  them,  the  difference  in  their  characters  was 
essentially  the  same  as  afterwards.  Mr.  Cooke,  we  may  sup- 
pose, was,  of  the  two  candidates,  the  more  fervent  and  pun- 
gent in  the  pulpit,  and  the  more  impetuous  in  his  measures ; 
Mr.  Noyes,  the  more  discreet  in  counsel,  the  more  cautious  in 
his  statements,  and  the  more  scholarlike  in  his  studied  per- 
formances. 

The  old  habit  of  proceeding  deliberately  in  so  great  a  mat- 
ter as  the  settlement  of  a  minister,  was  not  yet  laid  aside.  In 
September,  two  months  after  the  call  to  preach  on  probation, 
the  society  voted  their  approbation  of  Mr.  Noyes's  labors,  "  so 
far  as  they  had  experienced  the  same,"  and  engaged  to  give 

*  East  Haven,  North  Haven,  and  perhaps  West  Haven,  had  been  erected 
into  distinct  parishes  or  "  ecclesiastical  societies ;"  but  the  records  of  the 
First  Society,  as  distinct  from  the  town,  commenced  only  at  the  date  above 
mentioned. 


200 

him,  while  he  should  labor  in  the  ministry  among  them,  "  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds  per  annum  in  money,  or  in  grain 
and  flesh"  at  certain  prices,  and  two  hundred  pounds  in  the 
same  pay,  as  a  settlement.*  In  December,  the  Church  pro- 
ceeded to  declare  their  good  acceptance  of  his  labors,  and  to 
invite  him  to  settle  among  them.  He  was  ordained  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1716.f 

Mr.  Noyes  was  greatly  recommended  and  aided  at  his  in- 
troduction to  the  ministry,  by  the  celebrity  of  his  father  and 
grandfather ;  for  in  those  days  a  young  man's  parentage  was 
of  more  consequence  than  it  is  now.  He  was  the  son  of  the 
Rev.  James  Noyes  of  Stonington,  whose  father,.  James  Noyes, 
was  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  Massachusetts,  and  the 
first  teacher  of  the  Church  in  Newbury.  Mr.  Noyes  of  Ston- 
ington was,  in  his  day,  one  of  the  leading  ministers  of  the 
colony,  greatly  respected  for  his  wisdom  and  his  piety.  He 
was  "  a  distinguished  preacher,  carrying  uncommon  fervor 
and  heavenly  zeal  into  all  his  public  performances.  His  or- 
dinary conversation  breathed  the  spirit  of  that  world  to  which 
he  was  endeavoring  to  guide  his  fellow  men.  In  ecclesiasti- 
cal controversies  he  was  eminently  useful."  "  He  was  also 
counsellor  in  civil  affairs,  at  some  critical  periods.  "J  He  was 
selected  to  be  one  of  the  first  trustees  and  founders  of  the 
College  ;  for  though  he  was  then  an  old  man,  and  in  a  remote 
corner  of  the  colony,  his  influence  was  deemed  essential  to 
the  success  of  the  undertaking.  His  son  Joseph  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  which  graduated  in  1709,  while  the  College 

*  The  prices  at  which  Mr.  Pierpont's  salary  of  £120  was  to  be  made 
up,  as  fixed  in  1697,  were  as  follows  :  Winter  wheat  at  5s  the  bushel ; 
rye  3s  6d;  corn  2s  6d;  peas  3s  6d;  pork  3  lAd  the  pound;  and  beef  M. 
The  stipulated  prices  at  which  Mr.  Noyes  was  to  receive  the  grain  and  flesh 
of  his  salary  were  "  as  followeth  :  wheat  at  4s  6d  per  bushel,  rye  at  2s  8d, 
Indian  corn  at  2s;  pork  at  21-2<Zper  pound,  beef  at  1  1-2d, — the  grain  and 
flesh  to  be  good  and  merchantable."  If  Mr.  Noyes's  salary  was  worth  more 
than  his  predecessor's,  his  £200  settlement  was  probably  worth  much  less 
than  Mr.  Pierpont's  home.-lot  and  house  and  his  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
of  land. 

t  Church  Records,  and  Records  of  Society. 

t  Allen,  Biog.  Diet. 


201 

'  was  under  the  presidency  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Andrew  of  Milford, 
the  inferior  classes  being  instructed  at  Saybrook  by  the  tu- 
tors, and  the  senior  class  residing  with  the  rector  at  Mil- 
ford.  The  class  of  1709,  was  by  far  the  largest  that  had  ever 
gone  forth  from  the  institution.  It  consisted  of  nine  mem- 
bers, five  of  whom  became  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

Within  a  year  after  receiving  his  first  degree,  Mr.  Noyes, 
then  about  twenty  two  years  of  age,  became  a  tutor  in  the 
College,  where  he  continued  till  he  came  here  as  a  candidate 
for  the  pastoral  office.*  A  few  months  after  his  ordination, 

*  President  Stiles  says,  "  After  the  death  of  Rector  Pierson,  and  while  the 
College  was  at  Saybrook,  and  destitute  of  a  resident  Rector,  the  Rev.  Phine- 
has  Fisk,  and  the  Rev.  Joseph  Noyes,  were  the  pillar  tutors  and  the  glory  of 
the  College.  Their  tutorial  renown  was  then  great  and  excellent,  although 
now  almost  lost." — Serm.  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Whittelsey,  25.  In  his  Lit. 
Diary,  for  1779,  March  18th,  Dr.  S.  speaks  of  examining  Mr.  Noyes's  manu- 
scripts, and  says,  "  From  Rector  Pierson's  death,  till  the  removal  of  the  Col- 
lege to  New  Haven,  Mr.  Fisk  and  Mr.  Noyes  were  very  eminent  and  cardi- 
nal tutors,  far  beyond  any  other.  After  Mr.  Fisk  left  it,  the  headship  devolved 
upon  Mr.  Noyes,  who  was  in  the  tutorship  five  years.  So  that  he  was  per- 
fectly acquainted  with  College  affairs." 

Dr.  Stiles  transfers  to  the  pages  of  his  diary  the  following  letter,  which 
may  interest  some  lovers  of  antiquity. 

"  Re-end.  Sir, — I  purposed  to  wait  on  you  and  to  be  our  epistle  to  yourself; 
but  many  things  prevent,  especially  Mr.  Russel's  absence.  We  content  our- 
selves in  sending  one  of  the  candidates  to  bear  this  epistle,  which  is  to  in- 
form you,  Revnd.  Sir,  that  on  Thursday  of  this  week  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  this  school,  the  candidates  were  proved  and  approved, — present,  Mr. 
Noyes  of  Lyme,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ruggles,  as  also  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hart,  Mr.  Fisk, 
Mr.  Mather,  &c.  Our  request  is  that  you  would,  Revnd.  Sir,  appoint  them 
the  commencement  work.  Moreover,  it  being  granted  at  a  meeting  of  the 
trustees,  and  recorded  that  candidates  in  this  school  may  print  theses  and  a 
catalogue  as  in  other  schools,  we  and  they  humbly  request  yourself  would 
take  the  trouble  to  examine  the  theses  and  catalogue  presented  to  you  by  the 
bearer ; — please  to  insert  or  reject  theses  as  you  please.  It  is  also  our  humble 
request  that  yourself  would  give  the  theses  a  dedication.  Students  are  all  in 
health.  We  always,  Revnd.  Sir,  request  your  prayers,  knowing  our  charge 
is  great.  Our  duty  waits  on  Madam  Andrew.  We  shall  not  add,  but  the 
offering  of  our  humble  service  to  yourself,  testifying  that  we  are  your 
Very  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

Jos.  NOYES. 

Saybrook,  July  2G,  1714. 

To  the  Revnd.  Mr.  Samuel  Andrew,  Rector  of  the  Collegiate  School  in 
Connecticut." 

26 


202 

the  College  was  removed  from  Saybrook  to  New  Haven. 
The  land  on  which  the  first  College  edifice  was  erected,  at 
the  corner  of  College  and  Chapel  streets,  was  previously  the 
property  of  this  Church,  and  was  sold  by  the  Church  to  the 
trustees  of  the  collegiate  school,  "  for  twenty  six  pounds  cur- 
rent money."* 

For  the  first  twenty  years,  and  more,  after  Mr.  Noyes's  or- 
dination, there  is  no  evidence  that  his  ministry  was  not  as 
acceptable  and  prosperous  as  that  of  his  predecessor.  Dr. 
Dana,  who  was  partly  contemporary  with  him,  and  who 
knew  him  personally,  testifies  that  during  all  that  period,  the 
Church  was  harmonious  and  happy  under  his  ministry.!  To 
the  same  effect  his  colleague  and  immediate  successor,  Mr. 
Whittelsey,  testifies  that  during  that  period,  the  Church, 
"  enjoyed  much  peace,  dwelt  together  in  love  and  good  or- 
der, great  numbers  being  added  thereto  year  by  year."J  Yet 
he  did  not  preach,  during  those  years,  to  a  congregation  in 
which  there  was  no  piety,  or  no  superior  intelligence.  All 
the  instructors  and  students  of  the  College  were  under  his 
pastoral  care.  He  had  among  his  hearers,  successively,  such 
men  as  the  presidents  Cutler,  Williams  and  Clap.  Such  men 
too  as  Samuel  Johnson,  afterwards  the  father  of  the  Episco- 
pal Churches  in  Connecticut,  Jonathan  Edwards,  Eleazar 
Wheelock,  Aaron  Burr,  and  Joseph  Bellamy,  sat  under  his 
preaching,  enjoyed  communion  with  the  Church  under  his 
administrations,  and  left  no  record  of  their  dissatisfaction,  that 
has  come  down  to  us. 

Meanwhile  the  colony  was  slowly  spreading  itself  over  its 
vacant  territory  ;  and,  in  the  face  of  many  obstacles,  its  pop- 
ulation and  wealth  were  gradually  increasing.  The  counties 
of  Litchfield  and  Windham  were  in  that  age,  not  unlike  what 


*  Church  Records.  This  was  land  given  to  the  Church,  by  Mrs.  Hester 
Coster.  Mr.  Hooke's  lot  was  alienated  to  the  trustees,  to  be  the  site  of  the 
Rector's  house.  The  vote  of  the  trustees  to  remove  the  school  to  New  Ha- 
ven, was  on  the  condition-  that  these  two  lots  should  be  obtained  for  the  uses 
specified. 

t  Sermon  on  the  eighteenth  century.  t  MS. 


203 

Illinois  and  Wisconsin  are  now,  the  remote  wilderness  where 
hardy  enterprise  contended  with  rude  nature,  and  whither 
the  adventurous  emigrant  turned  his  steps,  hoping  to  find  a 
home  for  his  posterity.  Efforts  in  England,  to  take  away 
the  charter  and  liberties  of  the  colony,  were  renewed  from 
time  to  time,  keeping  the  people  continually  alarmed  and 
agitated  with  the  thought  of  losing  all  that  they  held  dear. 
Wars  with  the  Indians  in  the  easternmost  parts  of  New  Eng- 
land, in  which  Connecticut,  though  remote  from  the  danger, 
bore  her  full  part  by  contributions  of  men  and  treasure,  helped 
to  demoralize,  spreading  the  vices  of  military  life  through 
the  puritan  and  rustic  population.  A  fluctuating  currency, 
the  depreciation  of  the  bills  of  credit  which  were  issued  to 
meet  the  expense  of  wars,  and  of  constant  vigilance  and  de- 
fense in  England  to  maintain  their  chartered  liberties,  had  a 
disastrous  effect  not  only  on  business  and  general  prosperity, 
but,  what  is  of  far  more  consequence,  on  morals,  and  against 
the  influence  of  religion. 

The  Churches  too,  throughout  New  England,  had  gene- 
rally adopted  the  opinion  first  asserted  by  the  excellent  and 
venerated  Stoddard  of  Northampton,  that  the  Lord's  supper 
is  a  converting  ordinance,  and  that  men  of  decent  outward 
deportment,  professing  to  be  seekers  after  the  grace  of  God, 
but  with  no  experience  of  the  power  of  the  gospel,  and  no 
pretensions  to  spiritual  religion,  may  with  perfect  propriety 
be  received  to  full  communion.  And  in  Connecticut  the 
"  ecclesiastical  constitution,"  as  it  was  called,  or  confedera- 
tion of  the  Churches  under  the  Saybrook  articles,  which  as 
at  first  explained,  and  as  now  understood  in  practice,  implies 
nothing  inconsistent  with  the  original  Congregationalism  of 
New  England,  was,  by  a  series  of  little  usurpations,  acquir- 
ing more  and  more  of  the  form  and  spirit  of  the  worst  kind 
of  Presbyterianism.  The  Churches,  for  whose  liberty  and 
purity  the  country  was  planted,  had  lost  in  a  measure  both 
purity  and  liberty.  They  were  brought  jpontinually  more 
and  more  under  the  absolute  power  of  the  civil  state.  The 
parishes  being  established  by  law,  and  minorities,  however 


204 

dissatisfied  or  indignant,  having  no  right  of  secession,  except 
by  attaching  themselves  to  some  other  denomination,  the 
rights  and  feelings  of  minorities  were  sometimes  treated,  both 
by  parishes  and  by  ordaining  councils,  with  contempt.  The 
minister,  when  once  settled,  being  in  a  great  degree  inde- 
pendent of  his  people,  was  under  strong  temptations  to  indo- 
lence in  his  studies,  and  to  an  inefficient  and  perfunctory 
manner  of  performing  his  duties.  The  wonder  is,  that  in 
these  circumstances,  the  ministry  and  the  Churches  did  not 
sink  together  into  such  an  apostacy  as  was  at  that  very  time 
taking  place  in  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Churches  of  Eu- 
rope. God  remembered  his  covenant  with  the  fathers,  and 
would  not  forsake  the  children. 

The  year  1735  is  commonly  regarded  as  the  commence- 
ment of  that  great  religious  excitement  and  revival,  in  New 
England,  which  made  the  middle  of  the  last  century  so  mem- 
orable in  the  history  of  our  Churches.  Occasional  and  local 
revivals  of  religion — seasons  of  awakening  and  ingathering 
in  particular  churches,  had  not  been  uncommon  in  New 
England,  nor  have  they  ever  been  uncommon  in  any  country 
in  which  the  gospel  has  been  faithfully  preached.  But  in 
the  year  1735,  there  was  a  signal  work  of  the  grace  of 
God  in  the  town  of  Northampton,  which  was  then  blessed 
with  the  ministry  of  Jonathan  Edwards.  It  began  there 
without  any  extraordinary  circumstances  to  awaken  the  at- 
tention of  the  people,  or  any  extraordinary  arrangements  or 
efforts  on  the  part  of  the  minister.  The  young  people  of  the 
place  had  for  two  or  three  years  shown  an  increased  sobriety 
in  some  respects,  and  an  increased  disposition  to  receive 
religious  instruction.  There  had  been,  from  time  to  time, 
instances  of  strong  religious  impression  and  of  hopeful  reno- 
vation. But  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  1734,  five  or  six 
persons,  one  after  another,  became  very  suddenly  the  subjects 
of  that  grace  of  God  which  creates  the  soul  anew.  Among 
these  was  a  young  woman  distinguished  for  her  gaiety  in 
youthful  society, — "  one  of  the  greatest  company-keepers  in 
the  whole  town," — who  came  to  the  pastor,  with  a  broken 


205 

heart  and  a  contrite  spirit,  and  with  faith  and  hope  in  the 
Savior  of  sinners,  before  any  one  had  heard  of  her  being  at 
all  impressed  with  serious  things.  The  sudden,  yet,  as  time 
proved,  real  conversion  of  this  young  woman,  was  the  power 
of  God  striking  the  electric  chain  of  religious  sympathies, 
that  had  imperceptibly,  but  effectually  encircled  all  the  fami- 
lies of  Northampton.  Mr.  Edwards  says  in  his  "  Narrative," 
"  The  news  of  it  seemed  to  be  almost  like  a  flash  of  light- 
ning upon  the  hearts  of  young  people  all  over  the  town,  and 
upon  many  others."  "  Presently  a  great  and  earnest  concern 
about  the  great  things  of  religion  and  the  eternal  world,  be- 
came universal  in  all  parts  of  the  town,,  and  among  persons 
of  all  degrees  and  all  ages.  All  talk  but  about  spiritual  and 
eternal  things  was  soon  thrown  by  ;  all  the  conversation  in 
all  companies  was  upon  these  things  only,  except  so  much 
as  was  necessary  for  people  carrying  on  their  ordinary  secular 
business.  The  minds  of  people  were  wonderfully  taken  off 
from  the  world  :  it  was  treated  among  us  as  a  thing  of  very 
little  consequence.  All  would  eagerly  lay  hold  of  opportu- 
nities for  their  souls,  and  were  wont  very  often  to  meet  to- 
gether in  private  houses  for  religious  purposes:  and  such 
meetings  when  appointed  were  generally  thronged.  Those 
who  were  wont  to  be  the  vainest  and  loosest,  and  those  who 
had  been  most  disposed  to  think  and  speak  slightly  of  vital 
and  experimental  religion,  were  now  generally  subject  to 
great  awakening.  And  the  work  of  conversion  was  carried 
on  in  a  most  astonishing  manner,  and  increased  more  and 
more.  From  day  to  day,  for  many  months  together,  might 
be  seen  evident  instances  of  sinners  brought  out  of  darkness 
into  marvellous  light.  In  the  spring  and  summer  following, 
the  town  seemed  to  be  full  of  the  presence  of  God,  it  was 
never  so  full  of  love,  and  yet  so  full  of  distress,  as  it  was  then. 
It  was  a  time  of  joy  in  families,  on  account  of  salvation  being 
brought  to  them ;  parents  rejoicing  over  their  children  as  new 
born,  and  husbands  over  their  wives,  and  wives  over  their 
husbands.  The  goings  of  God  were  then  seen  in  his  sanc- 
tuary, God's  day  was  a  delight,  and  his  tabernacles  were 


206 

amiable.  Our  public  assemblies  were  then  beautiful ;  the 
congregation  was  alive  in  God's  service,  every  one  eagerly 
intent  on  the  public  worship,  every  hearer  eager  to  drink  in 
the  words  of  the  minister  as  they  come  from  his  mouth. 
The  assembly  were,  from  time  to  time,  in  tears,  while  the 
word  was  preached  ;  some  weeping  with  sorrow  and  distress, 
others  with  joy  and  love,  others  with  pity  and  concern  for 
their  neighbors."* 

But  that  which  was  newest  and  most  remarkable  about 
this  work  of  God's  grace,  was  that  it  was  not  a  local  awak- 
ening. That  which  I  have  recited  from  Edwards's  Narra- 
tive, is  only  a  specimen  of  what  was  going  forward  at  the 
same  time,  not  only  in  the  neighboring  towns  of  Massachu- 
setts, but  still  more  extensively  in  Connecticut,  and  even  in 
some  parts  of  New  Jersey.  This  Church  shared  in  that  first 
general  revival.  In  the  Narrative  from  which  I  have  already 
quoted,  and  which  was  written  in  1736,  Mr.  Edwards  says, 
"  There  was  a  considerable  revival  of  religion  last  summer  at 
New  Haven,  old  town,  as  I  was  once  and  again  informed  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes,  the  minister  there,  and  by  others.  And 
by  a  letter  which  I  very  lately  received  from  Mr.  Noyes,  and 
also  by  information  we  have  had  otherwise,  this  flourishing 
of  religion  still  continues,  and  has  lately  much  increased. 
Mr.  Noyes  writes  that  many  this  summer  have  been  added 
to  the  Church,  and  particularly  mentions  several  young  per- 
sons that  belong  to  the  principal  families  of  that  town."f 
One  of  the  persons  brought  under  the  power  of  religion  during 
the  progress  of  that  revival  in  this  Church,  was  Aaron  Burr, 
afterwards  President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  who  was 
then  pursuing  his  studies  here  as  a  resident  graduate.^ 

The  awakening  of  1735,  here  and  elsewhere,  was  followed 
by  several  years  of  comparative  declension ;  though  it  could 
not  be  denied,  that  great  and  abiding  reformations  were  made, 
in  those  places  which  had  been  so  remarkably  visited. 

*  Works,  (Dwight's  ed.)  IV,  22.  I  have  abridged  the  language  of  Ed- 
wards. 

t  Ibid,  26.  i  Allen,  Biog.  Dictionary. 


207 

In  the  year  1739,  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield,  whose  fame 
was  already  great  in  England,  where  he  preached  his  first 
sermon  in  June,  1736, — and  in  the  infant  colony  of  Georgia, 
which  he  had  visited  in  1738, — came  for  the  second  time  to 
America.  He  arrived  at  Philadelphia  in  November ;  and  af- 
ter preaching  there  and  at  New  York,  and  at  a  number  of 
places  in  New  Jersey,  just  long  enough  to  be  heard  by  thou- 
sands with  unmingled  and  enthusiastic  admiration,  he  pro- 
ceeded through  the  southern  colonies,  where  he  labored  amid 
great  excitement,  and  with  great  success,  till  the  last  of  Au- 
gust, 1740.  Then  at  the  earnest  invitation  of  some  of  the 
ministers  of  Boston,  he  embarked  at  Charleston  for  New 
England,  where  another  revival  had  already  commenced,  far 
more  extensive,  and  in  respect  to  the  strength  of  excitement, 
far  more  powerful,  than  that  which  had  been  enjoyed  five 
years  before.  The  town  of  Boston,  however,  notwithstand- 
ing the  earnest  endeavors  of  the  ministers  there,  had  remained 
unaffected.  The  fame  of  Whitefield  prepared  the  people  of 
that  place  to  receive  him  with  awakened  curiosity.  The 
liberality  of  his  Christian  feelings,  and  the  strangeness  of  his 
position — a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  venerating 
the  piety  of  the  Puritans,  seeking  to  walk  in  their  steps,  and 
giving  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  without  reserve,  to  all 
the  followers  of  Christ — propitiated  their  good  will.  His  pe- 
culiar style  of  oratory,  depending  for  its  power  far  more  upon 
imagination,  fervor,  pathos,  voice  and  gesture,  than  upon  ar- 
gument, riveted  their  attention  to  those  simple  and  familiar 
truths  which  had  been  a  thousand  times  inculcated  upon  them 
in  vain.  He  preached  to  crowded  thousands,  not  only  in  all 
the  meeting  houses,  but  upon  the  common.  He  made  ex- 
cursions into  the  adjacent  country,  preaching  as  he  traveled, 
at  the  rate  of  sixteen  sermons  in  a  week.  It  was  supposed 
that  at  his  last  sermon  in  Boston,  when  he  took  his  leave  of 
the  town,  he  had  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  hearers. 
The  excitement,  thus  begun,  did  not  subside  when  the  im- 
mediate occasion  of  it  was  removed.  Boston  was  at  that 
time  blessed  with  the  revival  of  true  religion. 


208 

On  Thursday,  the  23d  of  October,  Mr.  Whitefield,  having 
visited  Mr.  Edwards  at  Northampton,  where  he  spent  several 
days,  arrived  at  New  Haven.  Here  he  was  entertained  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  James  Pierpont,  the  brother  in  law  of  Mr. 
Edwards  and  Mr.  Noyes.  The  legislature  of  the  colony  be- 
ing in  session,  he  remained  till  after  the  Lord's  day ;  "  and 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  numbers  daily  impressed"  under 
his  daily  ministrations  in  the  old  polygonal  meeting  house. 
Several  ministers  of  the  vicinity  visited  him,  "  with  whose 
pious  conversation  he  was  much  refreshed."  Good  old  Gov- 
ernor Talcott,  on  whom  with  due  politeness,  he  waited  to 
pay  his  respects,  said  to  him,  "  Thanks  be  to  God  for  such 
refreshings  in  our  way  to  heaven."* 

The  great  religious  awakening  which  was  then  in  pro- 
gress throughout  New  England,  was  accompanied  with 
many  errors  and  extravagances.  We  have  heard  much,  and 
some  of  us  have  seen  something,  of  the  extravagances  and 
enthusiasm  connected  with  religious  excitements  at  the  pres- 
ent day ;  but  nothing  in  our  day, — whether  "  new  meas- 
ures," or  "  Finneyism,"  or  "  Burchardism,"  or  by  whatever 
name  of  terror  you  may  choose  to  call  it, — nothing  that  has 
had  place  within  the  pale  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Congrega- 
tional communion,  can  be  represented  as  equal  to  the  heats 
and  disorders  of  the  great  revival  of  1740-41.  And  the  great 
reason  is,  the  revivals  of  our  day  do  not  find  the  Churches, 
or  the  country,  in  so  low  and  unprepared  a  state  as  did  the 
revivals  of  that  day.  There  is  now  a  more  intelligent  and 
skillful  ministry  ;  the  word  of  God  is  better  understood  ;  the 
nature  of  true  piety  is  better  understood  ;  the  differences  be- 
tween genuine  and  false  religious  experience,  are  more  clearly 
and  commonly  apprehended ;  and,  what  is  of  equal  conse- 
quence, the  various  methods  and  processes  by  which  the  re- 
newing Spirit  actually  leads  the  minds  of  men  to  repentance 
and  to  holiness,  have  been  more  extensively  and  carefully 
observed.  It  were  indeed  a  shame  to  the  Churches  and  a 

*  Trumbull,  II,  153. 


209 

reproach  to  the  gospel  itself,  if  ministers  and  Churches  had 
learned  nothing  from  the  revival  of  1740,  with  its  blessings 
and  its  incidental  evils,  and  nothing  from  the  many  similar 
visitations  of  Divine  mercy  between  that  day  and  the  present. 

One  of  the  first  symptoms  of  disorder,  was  the  springing  up 
of  a  corps  of  lay  exhorters,  untaught,  uncalled,  self-sent,  who 
usurped  the  function  of  preaching  the  gospel,  and  brought 
themselves  into  collision  with  the  instituted  ministry  and  the 
organized  Churches. 

Another  alarming  indication  was  seen,  in  a  disposition  to 
follow  not  truth  nor  reason,  nor  any  rule  of  conduct,  but 
inward  impulses, — a  disposition  which  was  naturally  accom- 
panied with  a  pretended  power  of  knowing  the  state  of  men's 
hearts  by  some  spiritual  instinct,  quicker  and  surer  than  the 
old  process  of  inferring  the  state  of  the  heart  from  the  com- 
plexion of  the  life. 

Another  phenomenon  of  the  times,  was  the  appearance  of 
a  class  of  itinerating  ministers,  who  either  having  no  charge 
of  their  own,  or  without  special  call  forsaking  their  proper 
fields  of  labor,  went  up  and  down  in  the  land,  making  their 
own  arrangements  and  appointments,  and  operating  in  ways 
which  tended  more  to  disorganize  than  to  build  up  the 
Churches.  I  do  not  mean  such  men  as  Wheelock,  Pomeroy, 
Bellamy,  and  Edwards  himself,  who  went  where  they  were 
invited,  and  calculated  to  demean  themselves  every  where 
with  Christian  courtesy  and  propriety,  and  whose  preaching 
wherever  they  went, — certainly  that  of  the  two  latter, — was 
much  better  than  the  preaching  of  Whitefield,  for  every  pur- 
pose but  popular  excitement.  I  mean  those  men  of  far  inferior 
qualifications  who,  moved  by  an  unbalanced  excitement,  or 
by  the  ambition  of  making  a  noise,  or  by  the  irksomeness  of 
regular  and  steady  toil,  "  shot  madly"  from  their  appropriate 
spheres  if  they  had  any,  and  went  wherever  they  could  find 
or  force  a  way  among  the  Churches,  spreading  as  they  went, 
denunciation,  calumny,  contention,  spiritual  pride,  and  con- 
fusion. 

27 


210 

These  things  were  signs,  not  of  the  revival  of  religion,  but 
of  its  decay.  Enthusiasm  in  religion, — the  predominance  of 
imagination  and  blind  unthinking  impulse  over  the  soberness 
of  truth,  and  thought,  and  conscience, — may  coexist  for  a  sea- 
son with  the  revival  of  religion, — is  even,  in  a  sense,  and  to 
some  extent,  inseparable  from  a  great  religious  awakening ; 
yet  it  always  indicates  the  presence  and  the  power  of  the  en- 
emy ;  and  where  it  spreads,  and  bears  down  all  before  it, 
there  the  enemy  triumphs.  Over-doing,  says  Baxter,  is  the 
Devil's  way  of  undoing. 


DISCOURSE   XI. 

EXTRAVAGANCES    AND    CONFUSION. THE    NEW    HAVEN    CHURCH 

DIVIDED. MR.    NOYES    IN    HIS    OLD    AGE. 

1  COR.  i,  13.— Is  Christ  divided  ? 

AT  the  time  of  Whitefield's  first  visit  to  this  place  in  1740, 
Mr.  Noyes  was  in  the  25th  year  of  his  ministry,  and  in  the 
49th  year  of  his  age.  No  doubt  of  his  piety  or  orthodoxy, 
and  no  complaint  against  his  ministry,  appears  to  have  found 
public  utterance.  But  soon  afterwards  an  opposition  was  or- 
ganized against  him,  which  not  only  resulted  in  a  large 
secession  from  the  Church,  but  involved  all  the  evening  of 
his  life  in  storm  and  conflict. 

Whitefield  began  his  career  in  England,  where  it  was  not, 
and  never  had  been,  a  breach  of  charity  or  candor,  to  say 
that  not  a  few  of  the  clergy  on  whom  the  people  depended 
for  religious  instruction,  were  entirely  ignorant  of  the  power 
of  religion.  It  is  much  better  there  at  this  day ;  but  even 
now  there  are  not  a  few,  among  the  clergy  of  the  established 
Church,  who  take  up  the  ministry  as  a  profession,  not  only 
from  the  lowest  and  most  mercenary  motives,  but  even  with- 
out the  decency  of  hypocrisy.  It  was  perfectly  natural, 
therefore,  for  Whitefield,  in  his  preaching,  to  speak  strongly 
against  unconverted  ministers.  Whether  this  was  wise,  even 
in  England,  may  be  doubted.  But  when  he  came  into  this 
country,  where  every  minister  was  both  by  the  most  solemn 
profession  on  his  own  part,  and  by  the  most  solemn  recogni- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Churches,  a  man  renewed  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  and  where  any  good  evidence  of  a  minister's  being 
unrenewed  would  be  a  sufficient  reason  for  deposing  him 
from  office, — it  was  impossible  that  strong  and  sweeping  de- 
clarations against  unconverted  ministers,  could  answer  any 
good  purpose.  Unconverted  ministers  there  doubtless  were, 
even  in  New  England ;  but  Whitefield  erred  in  spreading  sus- 


212 

picion  among  the  ardent  and  impetuous,  respecting  the  piety 
of  their  pastors.  The  effect  on  the  people,  was  bad  :  the  ef- 
fect on  the  pastors  whose  piety  was  called  in  question,  was 
bad ;  and  the  effect  on  the  itinerants  who  would  fain  follow 
in  Whitefield's  footsteps,  was  worst  of  all. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  distinguished  of  these  itiner- 
ants, was  the  Rev.  James  Davenport,  a  son  of  the  Rev.  John 
Davenport  of  Stamford,  and  great  grandson  of  the  first  pastor 
of  this  Church.  This  man,  having  been  educated  at  Yale 
College,  where  he  graduated  in  1732,  had  been  for  several 
years  settled  in  the  pastoral  office  at  Southold  on  Long 
Island,  and  had  been  esteemed  a  pious,  sound,  and  faithful 
minister.  But  in  the  general  religious  excitement  of  1740, 
he  was  carried  away  by  enthusiastic  impulses,  and  without 
asking  the  approbation  or  consent  of  his  people,  set  out  upon 
an  itineracy  among  the  Churches,  leaving  his  own  particular 
charge  unprovided  for.  Wherever  he  went,  he  caused  much 
excitement  and  much  mischief.  His  proceedings  were  con- 
stantly of  the  most  extravagant  character.  Endowed  with 
some  sort  of  eloquence,  speaking  from  a  heart  all  on  fire,  and 
accustomed  to  yield  himself  without  reserve  to  every  enthu- 
siastic impulse,  he  was  able  to  produce  a  powerful  effect, 
upon  minds  prepared,  by  constitution  or  by  prejudice,  to  sym- 
pathize with  him.  His  preaching  was  with  the  greatest 
strength  of  voice,  and  with  the  most  violent  gesticulation ;  it 
consisted  chiefly  of  lively  appeals  to  the  imagination  and  the 
nervous  sensibilities,  and,  in  the  mimicry,  or  pantomime,  with 
which  he  described  things  absent  or  invisible  as  if  they  were 
present  to  the  senses,  he  appears  to  have  been  more  daring,  if 
not  more  powerful,  than  Whitefield  himself.  He  would  make 
nervous  hearers  feel  as  if  he  knew  all  the  secret  things  of 
God,  speaking  of  the  nearness  of  the  day  of  judgment  like 
one  from  whom  nothing  was  hidden.  He  would  work  upon 
their  fancy,  till  they  saw,  as  with  their  eyes,  the  agony,  and 
heard,  as  with  their  ears,  the  groans  of  Calvary,  and  felt  as 
the  popish  enthusiast  feels  when,  under  the  spell  of  music, 
he  looks  upon  the  canvas  alive  with  the  agony  of  Jesus. 


213 

He  would  so  describe  the  surprise,  consternation,  and  despair 
of  the  damned,  with  looks  and  screams  of  horror,  that  those 
who  were  capable  of  being  moved  by  such  a  representation, 
seemed  to  see  the  gate  of  hell  set  open,  and  felt  as  it  were  the 
hot  and  stifling  breath  of  the  pit,  and  the  "  hell-flames  flash- 
ing in  their  faces."  And  if  by  such  means  he  could  cause 
any  to  scream  out,  he  considered  that  as  a  sign  of  the  special 
presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  redoubled  his  own  exer- 
tions, till  shriek  after  shriek,  bursting  from  one  quarter  and 
another  in  hideous  discord,  swelled  the  horrors  of  the  scene. 
In  one  instance  it  is  recorded  of  him  as  follows, — and  this  I 
suppose  to  be  an  exaggerated  description  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  ordinarily  proceeded  at  the  close  of  his  sermon, 
when  he  found  sufficient  encouragement  in  the  state  of  his 
audience.  "  After  a  short  prayer,  he  called  for  all  the  dis- 
tressed persons  (who  were  near  twenty)  into  the  foremost 
seats.  Then  he  came  out  of  the  pulpit,  and  stripped  off  his 
upper  garments,  and  got  up  into  the  seats,  and  leaped  up  and 
down  some  time,  and  clapped  his  hands,  and  cried  out  in 
these  words,  '  The  war  goes  on,  the  fight  goes  on,  the  Devil 
goes  down,  the  Devil  goes  down,'  and  then  betook  himself  to 
stamping  and  screaming  most  dreadfully."* 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  of  such  a  man,  that  he  was 
exceedingly  presumptuous  and  censorious,  in  pronouncing 
judgment  upon  the  character  and  state  of  all  who  refused  to 
countenance  his  proceedings.  He  not  only  awakened  sus- 
picion of  ministers,  by  throwing  out  in  his  sermons  vague  and 
ambiguous  insinuations ;  but  he  was  wont,  in  the  most  per- 
emptory and  solemn  manner,  to  declare  tFn's  or  that  particular 
minister  an  unconverted  man,  and  to  call  on  the  people  to 
avoid  that  minister's  preaching  as  they  would  avoid  poison. 


*  Chauncey,  Seasonable  Thoughts,  99.  I  know  not  why  Chauncey  is  not 
as  good  authority  in  such  matters  as  the  panic-stricken  Doctors  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  There  is  hardly  a  sentence  in  his  book  which  would  not  read  well 
in  some  of  our  most  othodox  periodicals,  theological  and  literary.  His  state- 
ments of  matters  of  fact,  bear  a  wonderful  likeness  to  the  reports  which  were 
given  in  to  the  Reforming  Convention  of  Presbyterians,  assembled  at  Phila- 
delphia in  May,  1837. 


214 

This  place  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  principal  thea- 
ters of  his  efforts.  The  celebrity  of  his  father  and  of  his 
more  illustrious  ancestor,  and  his  numerous  connections  here, 
his  mother  being  a  native  of  New  Haven,*  afforded  him  of 
course  a  favorable  introduction.  He  came  to  this  place  about 
the  beginning  of  September,  1741,  and  immediately  com- 
menced operations.  He  was  not  long  in  forming,  or  back- 
ward in  expressing,  his  opinions  of  Mr.  Noyes,  whose  pulpit 
he  was  for  a  while  permitted  to  enter.  In  an  account  writ- 
ten and  published  at  the  time  it  is  said,  "  Mr.  Davenport,  in 
almost  every  prayer,  vents  himself  against  the  minister  of  the 
place,  and  often  declares  him  to  be  an  unconverted  man,  and 
says  that  thousands  are  now  cursing  him  in  hell  for  being 
the  instrument  of  their  damnation.  He  charges  all  to  pray 
for  his  destruction  and  confusion.  He  frequently  calls  him  a 
hypocrite,  a  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing,  and  a  devil  incarnate." 
"  I  think,"  adds  the  writer,  "  that  few  or  none  of  his  greatest 
admirers  undertake  peremptorily  to  justify  these  things  ;  but 
they  have  conceived  such  an  extraordinary  opinion  of  his 
holiness  and  success,  as  that  they  seem  to  suppose  that  he 
has  some  extraordinary  assistance  or  commission  to  do  that 
which  may  not  be  done  by  any  other  man."f 

The  following  statement,  which  is  made  not  inconsider- 
ately, but  upon  the  most  unquestionable  testimony,  is  valua- 
ble, not  only  as  showing  the  nature  of  Mr.  Davenport's  opera- 
tions in  this  Church,  but  also  as  illustrating  to  some  extent 
the  character  of  Mr.  Noyes. 

Several  brethren  of  the  Church  being  offended  at  Mr. 
Davenport's  publicly  condemning  their  pastor  as  an  uncon- 
verted man,  calling  him  a  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing,  with 
many  other  like  opprobrious  expressions,  came  together  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Noyes,  on  the  Lord's  day,  September  21, 

*  Rev.  John  Davenport,  of  Stamford,  was  twice  married.  The  children  of 
his  first  wife  were  six.  His  second  wife  was  the  widow  Elizabeth  Maltbie, 
daughter  of  John  Morris.  She  was  the  mother  of  two  sons,  Abraham  and 
James.  Dodd,  East  Haven  Register,  116. 

t  Chauncey,  157. 


215 

1741,  probably  in  the  evening,  and  desired  Mr.  Davenport  to 
give  the  reasons  why  he  had  thus  reproached  and  scandalized 
their  pastor. 

Accordingly,  Mr.  Davenport  alledged  as  his  first  reason,  that 
a  woman  told  him  that  she  came  to  Mr.  Noyes's  under  con- 
viction, and  said  that  she  was  the  greatest  sinner  in  the 
world,  and  that  Mr.  Noyes  endeavored  to  abate  her  con- 
victions. 

To  this  Mr.  Noyes  replied,  that  he  did  not  remember  the 
instance  ;  but  supposed  it  might  be  thus,  viz.  that  he  might 
tell  her  that  she  was  a  very  great  sinner,  and  that  she  ought 
to  be  sensible  of  it,  and  more  sensible  of  her  own  sins  than 
of  any  other  person's  in  the  world ;  but  that  he  did  not  sup- 
pose that  she  was  really  the  greatest  sinner  in  the  world. 
Upon  this,  Mr.  Davenport  declared  that  this  very  reply  was 
an  additional  evidence  of  his  being  an  unconverted  man. 
Afterwards,  in  explaining  himself  upon  the  word  'evi- 
dence,' he  said,  that  it  gave  him  reason  to  believe  that  it 
was  so. 

Mr.  Davenport  proceeded  to  alledge  as  his  second  reason, 
that  Mr.  Noyes  assumed  an  honor  to  himself  in  the  ministry 
which  did  not  belong  to  him ;  for  a  woman  told  him  that, 
some  years  ago,  she  came  to  Mr.  Noyes,  and  brought  a  "  rela- 
tion," or  narrative  of  her  mental  exercises  on  religious  sub- 
jects, wherein  she  mentioned  the  names  of  several  ministers 
who,  she  supposed,  had  been  instrumental  of  her  conversion  ; 
and  Mr.  Noyes  asked  her  if  he  had  not  also  done  something 
towards  her  conversion,  and  asked  her  why  his  name  was 
not  mentioned.  Mr.  Davenport  added  that  several  other  per- 
sons had  told  him  that  Mr.  Noyes  disliked  their  "relations," 
because  there  were  so  many  names  in  them  besides  his. 

To  this  accusation  Mr.  Noyes  replied,  that  he  did  not  re- 
member any  such  thing,  and  was  confident  that  it  was  a  mis- 
representation. 

A  third  reason  offered  by  Mr.  Davenport  in  support  of  his 
opinion  was,  that  Mr.  Noyes  was  not  a  friend  to  the  work 
then  going  on,  and  that  he  did  not  countenance  itinerant 


216 

preachers ;  and  that  several  persons  had  told  him  that  they 
came  to  meeting  with  their  affections  raised,  and  that  Mr. 
Noyes's  preaching  deadened  and  discouraged  them,  and  ten- 
ded to  stifle  their  convictions. 

To  all  this  Mr.  Noyes  replied,  that  his  preaching  and  con- 
duct in  these  things  were  publicly  known,  and  that  every 
one  was  capable  of  judging  without  his  saying  any  thing  on 
the  subject. 

The  fourth  argument  to  prove  Mr.  Noyes  an  unconverted 
man  was,  that  in  private  conversation  with  Mr.  Davenport, 
he  had  said  to  this  effect,  that  he  had  been  deeply  sensible  of 
the  vileness  and  corruption  of  his  own  nature,  and  that  every 
one  that  turned  his  thoughts  inward  might  easily  have  such 
a  sense ;  and  as  Mr.  Noyes  seemed  to  suppose  that  it  was  an 
easy  thing,  the  conclusion  was  that  he  had  never  experienced 
it  himself. 

Mr.  Noyes's  reply  to  this  statement  was,  that  he,  in  the 
conversation  referred  to,  utterly  refused  to  give  Mr.  Daven- 
port any  account  of  his  religious  experience,  but  that  they 
had  some  discourse  on  doctrinal  points.  He  could  not  think, 
however,  that  Mr.  Davenport  could  reasonably  understand 
him  to  mean,  or  intend,  that  every  natural  man  had  a  sense 
of  the  vileness  and  corruption  of  his  nature,  or  that  it  was  an 
easy  thing  to  have  it.  Several  things  were  said  on  this  point 
which  could  not  easily  be  minuted  down ;  but  the  sum  of 
it  was,  "  there  seemed  to  be  a  misunderstanding  between 
them." 

The  whole  ground  had  now  been  gone  over ;  and  in  view 
of  all  that  had  been  said,  Mr.  Davenport  declared  that  these 
reasons  were  sufficient  to  justify  him  in  censuring  and  con- 
demning Mr.  Noyes  as  he  had  done.  Then  he  said  he  would 
make  a  sort  of  acknowledgment ;  and  forthwith,  while  some 
in  the  room  were  talking  loud,  and  others  smoking,  and  some 
with  their  hats  on,  he  began  a  prayer.  There  being  so  much 
noise  in  the  room,  he  was  hardly  heard  at  first.  Many  kept 
on  talking ;  others  exclaimed  "  stop  him ;"  Mr.  Noyes  spoke 
once  or  twice,  and  said,  "  Mr.  Davenport,  I  forbid  your  pray- 


217 

ing  in  my  house  without  my  leave."  But  he  went  on  in  the 
midst  of  noise,  confusion,  and  consternation,  and  declared 
Mr.  Noyes  an  unconverted  man,  and  his  people  to  be  as  sheep 
without  a  shepherd,  and  prayed  that  what  he  had  now  said, 
might  be  a  means  of  his  and  their  conversion ;  "  or  else," 
said  he,  "according  to  thy  will  let  them  be  confounded." 
After  that  manner,  he  went  on  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
When  he  had  done,  Mr.  Noyes  forbade  his  ever  going  into  his 
pulpit  again  ;  and  some  declared  to  Mr.  Davenport,  that  his 
praying  in  that  manner  was  a  taking  of  the  name  of  God  in 
vain.  And  so  the  assembly  broke  up,  in  great  consternation. 

The  document  from  which  I  have  taken  this  account,  is 
subscribed  by  Thomas  Clap,  Rector  of  Yale  College,  John 
Punderson,  then  a  deacon  in  this  Church,  John  Munson,  who 
afterwards  performed  the  office  of  a  deacon  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  and  three  others,*  who  unite  in  certifying, 
"  This  is  the  truth,  according  to  the  best  of  our  remem- 
brance ;  and  the  substance  of  the  conference  was  minuted 
down  at  the  time  of  it,  and  publicly  read  to  Mr.  Davenport, 
and  the  rest,  immediately  after,  "f 

How  long  after  this  conference  Mr.  Davenport  continued 
his  operations  in  this  place,  does  not  appear.  We  find,  how- 
ever, that  at  the  next  society  meeting,  which  was  on  the  28th 
of  December,  a  paper  was  presented,  signed  by  thirty  eight 
men,  desiring  a  division  of  the  Society.  The  subscribers  to 
this  memorial  alledged  that  they  had,  "  by  long  and  sorrowful 
experience,  found  that  the  preaching  and  conduct  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Noyes.  had  been  in  great  measure  unprofitable  to  them," 
and  also  that  they  "  had  reason  to  think  that  he  differed  from 
them  in  some  points  of  faith."  They  professed  that  they  were 
not  influenced  by  "  any  prejudice  to  the  persons  of  Mr.  Noyes 
and  their  brethren  and  friends  of  the  Society,  to  whom  they 
heartily  wished  all  good."  They  asked  that  they,  with  oth- 
ers who  might  be  inclined  to  join  them,  might  be  allowed  to 

*  The  three  others  were  Theoph.  Munson,  Andrew  Tuttle,  and  Samuel 
Mix. 
t  Chauncey,  158,  161. 

28 


218 

draw  off  and  become  a  distinct  society,  so  that  they  might 
"  put  themselves  under  the  best  advantage  to  worship  God, 
under  such  means  as  he  in  his  good  providence  might  allow," 
and  such  as  they  might  hope  he  would  "  bless  for  their  spir- 
itual good  and  edification."* 

To  us  at  this  day,  it  seems  perfectly  obvious,  that  the  only 
wise  or  reasonable  course  in  regard  to  such  a  memorial,  and 
indeed  the  only  course  consistent  with  the  principles  of  reli- 
gious freedom,  was  either  to  take  such  measures  as  might 
conciliate  the  petitioners,  and  overcome  their  prejudices ;  or, 
if  that  seemed  impracticable,  to  grant  them  their  request  at 
once.  The  town,  as  experience  soon  proved,  was  large 
enough  for  two  congregations.  In  Hartford,  there  had  been 
two  Churches,  both  recognized  in  law,  for  seventy  years.  A 
controversy  not  unlike  that  which,  was  now  breaking  out 
here,  had  commenced  in  Guilford  twelve  years  before,  and 
had  been  adjusted,  after  several  years  of  confusion,  only  by 
the  interference  of  the  legislature  to  erect  the  minority  into 
a  new  society.  Yet  in  the  face  of  the  lessons  taught  by  the 
experience  of  other  places,  the  people  here,  when  the  ques- 
tion was  proposed  to  the  society,  whether  they  would  do  any 
thing  with  respect  to  the  memorial  of  the  dissatisfied  party, 
answered  in  the  negative.  Contention  was  now  of  course  to 
be  expected. 

The  next  step  of  the  dissatisfied  party  was,  to  prefer  to  the 
Church  articles  of  complaint  against  the  pastor,  expecting,  or 
at  least  demanding,  that  the  charges  should  be  investigated, 
according  to  the  strict  Congregational  discipline,  either  by  the 


*  Society  Records.  The  names  of  the  memorialists  were,  Gideon  An- 
drews, Caleb  Tuttle,  Jos.  Mix,  Caleb  Bradley,  Joseph  Burroughs,  David 
Austin,  Jacob  Turner,  Caleb  Andrews,  Enos  Tuttle,  Obadiah  Munson,  Ste- 
phen Johnson,  Samuel  Cook,  Timothy  Mix,  Samuel  Horton,  Thomas  Pun- 
derson,  Junr.,  Joseph  Sackett,  Hez.  Beecher,  Jos.  Mix,  Junr.,  Enos  Thom- 
son, John  Bull,  Caleb  Hotchkiss,  Junr.,  Benjamin  Woodin,  Caleb  Bull,  Tim- 
othy Jones,  Benjamin  Willmott,  Daniel  Turner,  Stephen  Austin,  Thomas 
Willmott,  Abraham  Thomson,  Mercy  Ailing,  David  Punderson,  Enos  Ai- 
ling, Jabez  Sher  nan,  Amos  Tuttle,  Thomas  Leek,  Ezekiel  Sanford,  Timo. 
Ailing,  Amos  Peck. 


219 

Church  itself,  or  by  a  council  agreed  upon  between  the  par- 
ties. In  opposition  to  this  demand,  it  was  claimed  that  the 
Saybrook  articles,  which  were  a  part  of  the  ecclesiastical 
constitution  of  the  colony  and  of  this  Church,  had  provided 
a  different  and  better  way  for  investigating  charges  against  a 
pastor.  By  that  rule,  the  ministers  of  the  county,  in  their 
Association,  were  in  the  first  instance  to  receive  charges 
against  a  brother  pastor,  and  if  they  saw  reason,  were  to  di- 
rect to  the  calling  of  a  council  of  the  consociated  Churches 
of  the  county.  But  such  was  the  standing  of  Mr.  Noyes 
with  the  ministers  and  Churches  of  the  vicinity,  that  the 
complainants  were  unwilling  to  bring  their  cause  before  such 
a  tribunal.  The  question  was  therefore  raised,  whether  the 
Church  had  ever  adopted  the  Saybrook  articles  as  a  rule  of 
discipline  ;  and  though  the  former  pastor  of  the  Church  had 
been  not  only  a  leading  member  of  the  synod  that  framed 
the  platform,  but  even  the  principal  author  of  that  instru- 
ment ;  and  though  the  Church  was  present  by  its  pastor 
and  delegate,  in  the  council  which  had  approved  the  plat- 
form and  formed  the  consociation  for  the  county,  and  had 
uniformly  acted  as  one  of  the  confederate  Churches  of  the 
county ;  it  was  now  maintained  by  the  complainants,  that 
inasmuch  as  there  was  no  written  record  of  any  action  of  the 
Church  formally  acceding  to  the  Saybrook  constitution,  it 
was  still  to  be  considered  as  under  the  old  rule  of  strict  Con- 
gregationalism. And  when  the  Church  overruled  their  ob- 
jection, and  adopted  a  vote  declaring  that  in  this  Church  the 
Saybrook -articles  were  to  be  observed,  the  ground  of  com- 
plaint was  altered.  They  now  professed  to  be  the  aggrieved 
party ;  they  professed  that  they  had  always  considered  them- 
selves as  belonging  to  an  unconsociated  Church :  and  they 
insisted  that  Mr.  Noyes  and  his  friends  had  "  divested  them 
of  their  ancient  ecclesiastical  privileges,"  and  by  adopting 
the  Saybrook  platform,  had  formed  themselves  into  another 
Church  than  that  with  which  they,  the  complainants,  were 
in  covenant. 


220 

Accordingly,  considering  their  relation  as  members  of  this 
Church  to  be  at  an  end,  they  proceeded,  without  delay,  to 
take  the  benefit  of  the  act  of  toleration,  and  to  organize 
themselves  as  a  religious  congregation  dissenting  from  the 
established  worship  of  the  colony.  On  Friday,  the  7th  of 
May,  1742,  they  were  solemnly  constituted  a  Congrega- 
tional Church,  by  four  ministers  called  for  the  purpose,  from 
"  the  Eastern  District  of  Fairfield  County,"  namely,  Samuel 
Cooke,  John  Graham,  Elisha  Kent,  and  Joseph  Bellamy.* 
One  of  the  leading  men  in  this  secession,  at  the  time  when 
the  Church  was  constituted,  and  afterwards,  was  Mr.  James 
Pierpont,  the  eldest  son  of  the  former  pastor,  and  the  brother 
in  law  of  Mr.  Noyes, — a  circumstance  which  could  hardly 
fail  to  add  to  the  sturdiness  and  stiffness  of  religious  contro- 
versy, something  of  the  proverbial  bitterness  of  a  family 
quarrel. 

While  the  opponents  of  Mr.  Noyes  were  making  these 
movements,  the  Society  which  they  were  endeavoring  to  dis- 
member had  not  been  entirely  idle.  At  a  meeting  on  the 
6th  of  April,  it  had  been  "  voted,  that  a  committee  be  cho- 
sen to  treat  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Noyes,  Mr.  James  Pier- 
pont and  others,  what  is  proper  to  be  done  by  the  Society  in 
this  critical  day,  and  report  their  thoughts  at  the  next  meet- 
ing." Six  days  afterwards,  on  the  report  of  that  committee, 
it  was  voted  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes  be  desired,  at  the 
charge  of  this  Society,  to  call  in  the  assistance  of  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  William  Russell  of  Middletown  and  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards of  Northampton  to  consult  measures  to  promote  peace 
among  us,  and  to  advise  the  Church  and  Society  in  so  im- 
portant an  affair.  On  the  first  Monday  in  May,  which  was 
two  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  ministers  who  came  from 
Fairfield  county  to  constitute  the  separating  Church,  the  So- 
ciety, in  compliance  with  the  advice  given  by  Mr.  Russell 
and  Mr.  Edwards,  resolved,  "  by  a  full  vote,"  to  proceed  to 
the  settlement  of  a  colleague  pastor;  and  requested  Mr. 

•*  Records  of  White  Haven  Church. 


221 

Noyes,  Deacon  Punderson  and  Capt.  John  Munson  to  apply 
to  the  Association,  at  their  next  meeting,  for  advice  and  di- 
rection with  respect  to  the  person  that  might  be  suitable  to 
be  called  as  assistant  in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Yet  in 
the  face  of  these  proceedings,  designed  to  take  away  from 
the  complaining  party  the  original  and  principal  ground  of 
their  dissatisfaction,  the  separating  Church  was  solemnly  con- 
stituted, after  a  day  spent  in  fasting  and  prayer  by  them  and 
their  officiating  ministers.  Whether  there  was  any  thing  in 
this,  suited  to  mitigate  Mr.  Noyes's  keen  sense  of  the  indigni- 
ties which  he  supposed  he  had  suffered,  or  to  give  him  any 
better  opinion  of  the  party  opposed  to  him,  we  need  not  in- 
quire. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  June,  the  advice  of  the  Association 
was  communicated  to  the  Society,  recommending  the  Rev. 
Aaron  Burr  of  Newark,  as  a  proper  person  to  be  called  to  be 
Mr.  Noyes's  assistant  in  the  ministry.  This  advice  was  im- 
mediately complied  with ;  and  a  committee  was  appointed, 
with  President  Clap  at  the  head  of  it,  to  go  to  Newark  as  soon 
as  might  be,  and  not  only  to  lay  this  call  before  Mr.  Burr,  and 
to  prosecute  it  before  the  Presbytery,  but  also  to  "  treat  with 
the  good  people  of  Newark,  and  obtain  their  consent  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Burr's  removal  to  New  Haven." 

We  know  nothing  further  respecting  this  application  to  Mr. 
Burr,  except  that  it  was  unsuccessful.  In  August.  Mr.  Noyes 
and  Captain  John  Munson  were  again  requested  to  apply  to 
the  Association  for  advice  respecting  an  assistant  to  the  pas- 
tor. The  advice  being  received,  the  Society  in  compliance 
with  the  direction  given  them,  applied  to  Mr.  Chauncey 
Whittelsey,  then  a  tutor  in  Yale  College,  to  render  occasional 
assistance,  as  might  be  consistent  with  his  other  employ- 
ments. From  this  time,  the  settlement  of  a  colleague  was 
talked  of;  but  for  several  years,  nothing  was  done.  The 
suspicion  went  abroad,  and  obtained  extensive  currency,  that 
Mr.  Noyes  was  not  hearty  in  the  plan  of  having  a  colleague. 
In  this  way,  the  separate  meeting  was  continually  increasing 
its  numbers. 


222 

Early  in  1744,  the  members  of  the  separate  Church  began 
their  arrangements  for  the  erection  of  a  house  of  worship. 
As  soon  as  it  appeared  what  they  were  doing,  a  meeting  of 
the  First  Society  was  held,  [18th  April,]  and  "  the  Society 
entering  upon  the  consideration  of  the  separate  party's  raising 
a  meeting  house  on  the  corner  of  Mr.  Joseph  Burrough's 
home-lot  adjoining  to  the  market  place,  voted  that  the  same 
is  very  grievous  to  the  said  Society,  and  that  they  esteem  it 
very  hurtful  to  the  public  peace  of  said  Society ;  and  that 
Col.  Joseph  Whiting,  Esq.,  Dr.  John  Hubbard,  and  Mr.  Jona- 
than Mansfield,  be  a  committee  from  said  Society,  immedi- 
ately to  represent  to  said  separatists,  that  their  doings  herein 
are  unlawful,  and  hurtful,  and  esteemed  a  public  nuisance, 
and  to  desire  them  forthwith  to  desist  their  work."  It  was 
also  voted,  "that  Col.  Joseph  Whiting,  Esq.,  and  Capt.  Jona- 
than Ailing,  and  Dea.  John  Hitchcock,  be  agents  or  attor- 
neys for  said  Society,  to  take  advice,  and  represent  to  the 
Hon.  General  Assembly,  the  doings  of  said  separatists,  in 
case  they  do  not  desist, — and  prosecute  them  in  the  law,  if 
it  be  thought  advisable."  Of  course,  the  separate  meeting 
house  went  up  the  more  rapidly,  after  such  proceedings  were 
commenced  against  it.* 

In  the  autumn  of  1744,  Whitefield  visited  New  England 
a  second  time.  Many  ministers  had  by  this  time,  become  so 
much  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  the  confusion  that  had  en- 
sued upon  the  labors  of  lesser  itinerants,  Whitefield's  imita- 
tors, that  they  looked  upon  his  coming  with  dissatisfaction, 


*  The  stated  place  of  worship  for  the  separates,  before  they  had  a  meeting 
house,  was  the  house  of  Mr.  Timothy  Jones.  Records  of  County  Court. 
From  the  records  of  the  court,  18th  January,  1743,  I  copy  the  following  : 
"  Lieut.  Joseph  Mix  and  others  of  the  separate  meeting  in  New  Haven,  with 
Mr.  James  Sprout,  a  preacher,  requesting  of  this  court  that  said  Sprout  might 
be  admitted  to  take  oaths  and  make  subscription,  according  to  the  act  of  Tole- 
ration, and  agreeable  to  the  law  of  this  colony  relating  to  sober  dissenters, 
this  court  having  [heard]  the  said  Sprout  and  counsel  thereon,  and  consid- 
ered thereof,  are  of  opinion  that  the  said  James  Sprout  hath  not  shown  him- 
self to  have  any  right  by  said  law  to  what  is  asked  for,  and  therefore  do  not 
*ee  cause  to  grant  the  request." 


223 

fearing  that  it  might  cause  a  new  outbreak  of  enthusiasm 
and  disorder.  The  General  Association  of  Connecticut,  in 
June,  1745,  hearing  of  his  intention  to  pass  this  way,  expres- 
sed their  disapprobation,  and  advised  that  he  be  not  invited 
to  preach  in  any  of  the  Churches.  Accordingly,  when  he 
passed  through  this  place  he  was  not  invited  as  before,  to 
preach  in  Mr.  Noyes's  pulpit.  A  great  crowd,  however,  as- 
sembled from  this  and  the  neighboring  towns  to  hear  him ; 
and  he  preached  from  a  platform  in  the  street,  before  Mr. 
Pierpont's  house,  to  a  congregation  on  the  green  which 
neither  of  the  meeting  houses  could  have  contained.* 

The  act  of  Toleration,  of  which  the  separating  party  had 
taken  the  benefit,  did  not  exempt  them  from  the  payment  of 
taxes  to  the  Society  from  which  they  had  withdrawn.  It 
only  gave  them  the  privilege  of  worshiping  by  themselves,  as 
dissenters  from  the  order  established  by  law.  This  of  course 
added  to  the  bitterness  of  the  controversy,  and  made  Mr. 
Noyes  increasingly  odious  to  those  who  having  renounced 
him  as  their  minister,  were  still  taxed  for  his  support.  In 
December,  1748,  a  glimpse  of  better  reason  appears  in  one  of 
the  Society's  votes,  by  which  it  was  conceded  that,  in  case 
of  the  settlement  of  a  colleague  pastor  by  the  Society,  those 
of  the  separate  meeting  who  had  taken  the  benefit  of  the  act 
of  Toleration,  should  be  freed  from  all  taxes  for  his  support. 
There  appears  no  reason  to  doubt  that  at  that  time,  and 
thenceforward,  Mr.  Noyes  was  earnest  in  his  desire  to  obtain 
a  colleague,  if  he  could  have  the  right  man.f 


*  The  vote  of  the  General  Association,  may  be  found  in  Trumbull,  II,  190. 
The  fact  of  Whitefield's  preaching  here  in  the  open  air,  was  communicated 
to  me  in  1825  by  the  venerable  Dr.  JEneas  Monson,  then  in  his  92d  year. 

t  At  the  meeting  above  mentioned  Mr.  Noyes  proposed,  "  that  the  Society 
would  settle  some  worthy  person  with  him  in  the  ministry."  So  again  at  a 
Church  meeting,  9th  Jan.  1750,  "  Mr.  Noyes,  our  Rev.  Pastor,  having  repre- 
sented to  this  Church  that  he  being  in  years,  &c.,  wanted  help," — "  the 
Church  having  sought  direction  of  God  in  this  important  affair,  and  consid- 
ered the  matter,  declared  by  their  vote  that  they  would,  God  willing,  pro- 
ceed to  settle  some  worthy  person  with  their  present  pastor  in  the  work  of 
the  ministry ;  and  in  order  thereunto  desired  and  appointed  the  Rev.  Mr. 


224 

In  January,  1750,  a  committee,  chosen  promiscuously  from 
both  parties,  was  appointed  to  consider  the  state  of  the  Soci- 
ety with  relation  to  the  religious  differences,  and  to  propose 
some  scheme  for  a  union,  or  at  least  for  preventing  any  fur- 
ther separation.  This  committee  does  not  appear  to  have  ac- 
complished any  thing,  or  to  have  made  any  report. 

Nine  years  after  the  organization  of  the  separate  Church, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Bird,  who  had  been  dismissed  from  his  pas- 
toral charge  in  Dunstable,  Massachusetts,  came  by  invitation 
to  supply  that  Church  with  stated  ministrations.  He  was  a 
man  of  popular  talents ;  and  the  congregation  to  which  he 
preached  was  soon  united  in  calling  him  to  a  permanent  set- 
tlement. 

On  the  3d  of  September,  1751,  a  council  was  convened  to 
advise  the  separate  Church  in  regard  ,to  the  installation  of  Mr. 
Bird  as  their  pastor.  The  manner  in  which  those  who  were 
dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Noyes  had  withdrawn  and  set  up  their 
separate  organization,  seems  to  have  been,  up  to  the  date  now 
referred  to,  a  serious  impediment  to  their  success.  Public 
opinion  regarded  them  as  originally  in  the  wrong.  Mr.  Bird 
had  suspended  his  acceptance  of  their  call  upon  the  condition 
that  something  should  be  done  for  the  removal  of  difficulties. 
If  Mr.  Noyes  and  his  friends  could  be  put  more  manifestly  in 
the  wrong,  a  great  point  would  be  gained.  This  council  was 
called  to  advise  in  the  removal  of  difficulties.  It  was  smaller 
than  was  expected ;  and  therefore,  after  spending  a  part  of 
two  days  in  examining  the  whole  case,  the  council  was  ad- 
journed to  the  15th  of  October,  the  Church  being  advised  to 
take  measures  in  the  mean  time  for  enlarging  the  council. 

After  the  adjournment,  and  probably  in  compliance  with 
some  unrecorded  advice  of  the  council,  the  leading  members 

Thomas  Clap,  Dea.  Isaac  Dickerman,  Dea.  John  Hitchcock,  to  be  their 
committee,  to  join  with  such  committee  as  the  Society  should  appoint,  in 
taking  the  advice  of  the  Rev.  Association  of  this  county  with  respect  to  a 
suitable  person  or  persons,  from  time  to  time,  as  need  shall  require,  and  in 
prosecuting  the  affair  from-  time  to  time,  by  the  approbation  or  direction  of 
our  Rev.  Pastor,  until  a  colleague  be  settled,  or  this  Church  order  and  direct 
otherwise. 


225 

of  the  separate  Church  sent  to  Mr.  Noyes  and  his  Church  a 
confession,  guarded  indeed,  and  not  very  humble,  but  yet  a 
confession  which,  if  it  had  been  received  in  a  right  spirit, 
might  have  led  to  a  reconciliation.*  How  that  confession 
was  received,  does  not  appear.  Probably  it  passed  without 
notice. 

When  the  council  came  together  again  in  October,  it  was 
greatly  enlarged,  and  included  no  small  part  of  the  strength 
of  the  new  divinity  and  new  measure  party  of  that  age. 
Bellamy  was  among  them,  and  Wheelock,  and  Pomeroy,  and 
Hopkins,  as  well  as  some  others  whose  names  are  now  less 
known,  though  then  they  were  numbered  with  the  champi- 
ons of  their  cause.  The  legislature  of  the  colony  was  then 
in  session ;  and  of  course  the  time  was  well  chosen  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  demonstration.  The  council  being  or- 
ganized, Messrs.  Bellamy  and  Hopkins  were  sent  to  Mr.  Noyes 
with  a  letter,  signifying  the  readiness  of  the  council  to  re- 
ceive any  communications  he  might  choose  to  make,  the  next 
day,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Mr.  Noyes  of  course 
had  no  communications  to  make  to  such  a  council ;  and  in 
the  morning,  the  council  entered  upon  its  business  without 
him.  But  in  the  mean  time,  the  General  Assembly,  in  its 
watchfulness  over  all  the  interests  of  the  commonwealth, 
considering  that  the  peace,  not  only  of  New  Haven,  but  of 
the  whole  colony,  was  involved  in  these  proceedings,  and 
feeling,  probably,  that  the  new  light  party  was  the  growing 
party,  judged  that  the  controversy  ought  to  be  heard  by  a 
mutual  council. 

The  advice  of  the  legislature  was  brought  in,  while  the 
council  were  hearing  the  case.  Immediately  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Mr.  Mills,  moderator  of  the  council,  Mr.  Whee- 
lock, Mr.  Bellamy,  and  two  of  the  lay  members,  was  ap- 
pointed to  "  confer  with  the  honorable  the  Governor,  Deputy 
Governor,  and  the  worshipful  assistants  now  sitting  in  court." 
The  committee  represented  to  the  upper  house,  how  often  the 

*  See  the  confession  in  Trtimbull,  II,  346. 

29 


226 

separating  party  had  proposed  to  Mr.  Noyes  a  mutual  council} 
and  how  often  he  had  refused  or  evaded  the  offer.  To  this 
the  Governor  and  his  council  replied  by  advising  that  the 
offer  should  be  renewed  once  more,  and  by  intimating  that 
once  more  would  be  enough. 

Next,  the  same  committee,  with  one  minister  added,*  was 
sent  to  confer  with  Mr.  Noyes  on  the  proposal  for  a  mutual 
council.  The  report  of  the  committee  was,  that  Mr.  Noyes 
would  not  comply  with  the  advice  of  the  Assembly.  Yet 
while  the  council  was  in  the  act  of  hearing  that  report,  a 
written  communication  from  Mr.  Noyes  was  presented,  in 
which  he  declared  his  purpose  to  call  his  Church  together, 
that  they  might  consult  on  the  advice  of  the  Assembly ;  and 
to  confer  with  the  committee  of  the  parish ;  and  to  prosecute 
the  business  as  fast  as  Providence  would  allow,  f  This  letter 
was  deemed  unsatisfactory  and  evasive  ;  arid  a  communica- 
tion, signed  by  a  committee  of  the  separate  Church,  was 
conveyed  to  Mr.  Noyes  by  a  committee  of  the  council,  to  tell 
him  that  they  did  not  trust  him.  and  that  they  wanted  prom- 

*  The  minister  added  to  the  committee  when  sent  to  Mr.  Noyes,  was  the 
Rev.  John  Graham  of  Southbury,  a  man  rather  more  unlikely  to  persuade 
or  conciliate,  than  either  Bellamy  or  Wheelock. 

t  The  oral  report  of  the  committee  was — "  Mr.  Noyes  told  them  '  he  had  a 
great  regard  to  the  fifth  commandment,  but  he  did  not  thank  the  Assembly 
for  what  they  had  done.  I  look  upon  the  Assembly  as  infallible  as  the  pope. 
Such  a  council  is  inconsistent  with  the  constitution,  contrary  to  the  light  of 
nature ;' — and  directing  himself  to  one  of  the  said  committee  said,  '  What  if 
you  and  I  had  a  difference,  and  you  should  choose  three  men,  and  I  choose 
three,  and  they  should  strip  and  fight  it  out ;  what  good  would  that  do  ?'  He 
said  '  he  liked  government,  but  did  not  like  arbitration  :  where  do  you  find 
any  ground  in  Scripture  for  it  ?'  The  said  committee  returning,  reported  as 
above  to  the  council,  and  declared  it  to  be  their  judgment  that  Mr.  Noyes 
would  not  comply,  and  that  what  he  said  was  a  sufficient  intimation  of  his 
non-compliance." 

The  reader  will  naturally  inquire  whether  it  was  generous  or  just  in  the 
council,  to  bait  and  worry  an  irritable  old  man,  by  sending  a  committee, 
some  of  whom  (as  Bellamy,  Wheelock  and  Graham,)  were  especially  ob- 
noxious to  him;  and  then  to  act,  not  upon  his  written  reply,  but  upon  the 
violent  expressions  which  the  committee  had  caught  up  in  the  heat  of  their 
debate  with  him.  Mr.  Noyes  was  undoubtedly  wrong;  the  only  question  is, 
whether  the  committee  and  the  council  were  perfectly  right. 


227 

ises  more  distinct,  and  pledges  more  irrevocable.  He  had 
not — so  they  told  him — expressly  declared  his  own  compli- 
ance with  the  advice  of  the  legislature  ;  he  had  not  proposed 
to  call  his  Church  together  immediately,  nor  had  he  fixed  any 
time  for  that  purpose.  To  this  Mr.  Noyes's  answer,  as  given 
in  writing,  was  plain,  and  for  aught  that  I  can  see,  explicit. 
"  Gentlemen,  I  have  read  your  paper  of  this  day,  and  in  an- 
swer say,  The  advice  of  the  honorable  Assembly  is  to  the 
Society  and  Church  in  this  place,  whose  minds  I  do  not 
know.  So  far  as  it  concerns  me,  I  purpose  to  prosecute  it, 
and  to  lay  it  before  my  Church  as  soon  as  Providence  will 
allow  me,  and  confer  with  the  Society's  committee  on  the  af- 
fair." Yet  the  committee  who  waited  on  him,  and  who 
brought  back  this  written  answer,  insisted  in  their  report, 
that  when  in  conversation  they  told  Mr.  Noyes  that  this 
seemed  to  leave  the  matter  in  doubt,  and  therefore  desired 
him  expressly  to  say  for  himself,  whether  he  would  on  his 
part  comply  with  the  advice  of  the  Assembly,  and  expressly 
promise  to  lay  it  before  the  Church,  he  refused  to  give  them 
any  other  promise;  and  upon  this  testimony,  the  council 
voted  that  Mr.  Noyes's  answers  were  evasive. 

The  next  step  in  the  council  was  to  give  a  formal  judg- 
ment on  the  controversy  between  the  separates  and  their  op- 
ponents, declaring  that  the  ground  on  which  the  separates 
had  withdrawn  and  erected  themselves  into  a  distinct  Church 
was  right ;  and  that  the  confession  which  they  had  so  lately 
offered  as  to  the  manner  of  their  withdrawal,  was  sufficient. 
Mr.  Bird  was  then  examined  and  approved ;  and,  in  the  face 
of  another  communication  from  Mr.  Noyes,  again  assuring 
them  of  his  intention  to  comply  with  the  advice  of  the  legis- 
lature so  far  as  he  was  concerned,*  the  installation  was  per- 
formed. 

*  Mr.  Noyes's  letter,  as  preserved  on  Mr.  Bird's  records,  is  as  follows  : 
«  To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jedediah  Mills,  &c. 

"  Gentlemen  : 

"  Perceiving  that  what  I  have  wrote  is  not  rightly  understood,  I  again 
say,  I  have  no  mental  reserves.     I  look  upon  it  my  duty  to  prosecute  the  ad- 


228 

This  proceeding  did  not  prevent  Mr.  Noyes  from  fulfilling 
his  promise  of  compliance  with  the  advice  of  the  Assembly. 
Early  in  the  ensuing  week,  the  Church  having  already  acted, 
there  was  a  meeting  of  the  Society,  at  which  it  was  voted, 
that  the  Society  "  do  fully  acquiesce  in  said  advice  and  deter- 
mine to  prosecute  it ;"  and  thanks  were  voted  to  the  General 
Assembly  for  their  care.  A  committee*  was  appointed  to  act 
for  the  Society  in  the  nomination  of  a  council,  and  in  deter- 
mining what  particular  questions  should  be  submitted  to  the 
council.  It  was  also  voted,  that  if  the  parties  should  not 
agree  in  the  nomination  of  a  council,  the  General  Assembly 
should  be  requested  either  to  appoint  a  council  of  their  own 
selection,  or  to  cause  one  to  be  nominated  by  the  several  con- 
sociations in  the  colony.  A  committee  was  also  appointed 
on  the  part  of  the  separate  Church.  ,The  committees  agreed 
in  the  nomination  of  a  council,  but  they  could  not  agree  as 
to  the  particular  questions  upon  which  the  council  should  be 
called  to  judge.  At  that  point,  the  proposal  was  frustrated.! 

A  year  and  a  half  after  these  proceedings,  this  Church 
adopted  a  solemn  vote,  reciting  the  origin  of  the  separation 
under  the  conduct  of  James  Davenport,  the  forbearance  which 
this  Church,  according  to  the  advice  of  the  "  Grand  Council 
at  Guilford,"  had  exercised  towards  its  separating  members, 


vice  of  the  honorable  Assembly.  Shall  dp  it  to  my  utmost :  purpose  to  call 
a  church  meeting,  the  beginning  of  the  week.  I  have  sent  for  the  Society's 
committee,  to  speak  with  them  this  evening.  Let  there  be  no  misunder- 
standing. In  great  haste,  I  am,  gentlemen,  yours,  &c. 

JOSEPH  NOYES. 

"  P.  S.  I  hope  you  will  do  nothing  to  defeat  the  advice." 

This  letter  came  when  the  council  were  just  ready  to  move  to  the  meeting 
house,  and  "  after  a  short  debate,"  was  voted  to  be  "  now  unseasonable." 

*  "  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas  Clap,  Dea.  Isaac  Dickerman,  John  Hubbard,  Esq., 
Dea.  John  Hitchcock,  Dea.  Jonathan  Mansfield,  Capt.  Jonathan  Ailing,  and 
Mr.  Chauncey  Whittelsey,  together  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Noyes." 

f  The  account  of  these  proceedings  is  compiled  from  the  records  of  the 
Society,  and  from  those  of  the  White  Haven  Church.  Dr.  Trumbull's  entire 
story  of  the  separation  at  New  Haven,  (II,  ch.  14,)  is  little  else  than  a  tran- 
script, with  verbal  alterations,  of  the  first  twelve  pages  in  Mr.  Bird's  book  of 
records.  He  appears  not  to  have  consulted  any  other  document. 


229 

and  the  censure  passed  upon  them  by  the  consociation  of  the 
county, — and  declaring  that  all  who  had  joined  the  separate 
Church,  or  who  had  communed  with  them,  had  cut  them- 
selves off  from  this  Church,  and  that  the  Church  was  there- 
fore discharged  of  "  any  farther  special  inspection  over  them." 

All  this  while  the  new  Church,  under  the  ministry  of  a 
man  in  the  prime  of  life,  whose  style  was  popular,  whose  elo- 
cution was  impressive,  and  whose  preaching  insisted  much 
on  those  great  topics  and  grounds  of  spiritual  religion  which 
are  in  all  ages  most  interesting  to  the  human  mind,  was  con- 
tinually gaining  upon  the  old  Church,  in  its  old  meeting 
house,  under  the  ministry  of  an  old  man,  whose  preaching, 
dry  in  style,  and  dull  in  delivery,  was^  at  the  best,  "non- 
committal" in  respect  to  those  ever  litigated  doctrines  which 
are  the  grand  objective  motives  of  Christian  piety.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1753,  it  was  proposed  that  a  new  meeting  house  should 
be  erected.  But  the  law  required,  in  order  to  the  erection  of 
a  meeting  house,  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Society ;  and  such  a  vote,  by  reason  of  the  opposition 
of  the  separate  party,  could  not  be  obtained.  It  was  resolved 
therefore  to  petition  the  General  Assembly  for  a  special  act  en- 
abling the  Society,  or  such  part  of  it  as  the  legislature  should 
think  proper,  to  tax  themselves  for  that  purpose.  The  separate 
Church  determined  to  meet  them  with  a  counter  memorial, 
praying  to  be  released  from  all  taxes  for  the  support  of  Mr. 
Noyes.  The  petition  of  the  Society  was  so  far  successful, 
that  the  erection  of  the  meeting  house  was  commenced  in 
the  ensuing  summer,  the  location  being  fixed  by  a  committee 
of  the  legislature.  But  although  the  undertaking  was  for- 
warded by  the  generosity  of  individuals,  and  by  large  and 
repeated  donations  from  the  funds  of  the  Church ;  such  were 
the  difficulties  to  be  encountered,  that  the  new  brick  meeting 
house  was  not  finished  till  three  or  four  years  afterwards. 

While  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  New  Haven  were  in  this 
unhappy  condition,  the  general  controversy  originating  in  the 
great  religious  excitement  of  the  age,  was  becoming  more 
complicated.  In  a  few  years  from  the  beginning,  it  was 


230 

plain  that  there  were  three  distinct  parties  in  the  field.  First, 
there  were  those  who  went  all  lengths  for  itineracy  and  lay 
preaching,  for  outcries  in  worship  and  bodily  agitations,  for 
denunciation  of  ministers,  and  separation  from  the  regular 
Churches,  for  enthusiastic  impulses  as  the  rule  of  judgment, 
and  for  every  other  extravagance.  The  chief  leader,  if  not 
the  father  of  these,  James  Davenport,  was,  in  the  year  1744, 
by  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  endeavors  of  Messrs.  Williams 
and  Wheelock  of  Lebanon,  recovered  from  his  delusion,  and 
brought  to  a  penitent  confession  of  the  extravagances  into 
which  he  had  been  led.  But  he  found,  as  such  men  always 
find,  that  he  could  not  undo  the  mischief  he  had  done.  He 
could  recover  but  few  of  those  whom  he  had  been  the  means 
of  leading  into  delusion.  They  generally  pronounced  him  a 
fallen  man ;  they  declared  that  he  was  under  the  influence 
of  others,  and  that  he  had  lost  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Another  party  included  all  those  who,  with  Edwards  and 
Bellamy,  acknowledged  the  hand  of  God  in  the  revival  of 
religion,  and  endeavored  to  convince  all  that  the  work  was 
indeed  of  God,  and  that  its  effects  and  results,  however  they 
might  come  far  short  of  what  had  been  hoped  for,  and  how- 
ever they  had  been  marred  by  the  workings  of  human  im- 
perfection and  folly,  were  greatly  to  be  rejoiced  in  ;  but  who 
at  the  same  time  felt  themselves  bound,  to  bear  testimony  as 
they  had  occasion, — though  I  cannot  but  think  that  some  of 
them  testified  too  sparingly, — against  the  extravagances  and 
errors  which  had  been  so  disastrously  mingled  with  the  work 
of  God,  whether  by  their  own  agency  or  by  that  of  others. 
This  was  the  middle  party ;  and  this  was  continually  gain- 
ing ground,  especially  in  Connecticut. 

A  third  party  was  that  of  which  Dr.  Chauncey,  of  Boston, 
may  be  considered  the  leader.  It  included  those  who  for- 
getting that  the  opposite  of  wrong  is  not  always  right,  thought 
that  the  one  great  duty  of  the  times  was  to  oppose  the  new 
light  and  the  new  measures.  They  were  men  whose  oppo- 
sition to  extravagance  became  itself  extravagant ;  and  whose 
fears  that  some  credit  might  accrue  to  Whitefield,  or  Ten- 


231 

nent,  or  Davenport,  or  some  other  revivalist,  led  them  insen- 
sibly to  take  dangerous  ground,  to  undervalue  all  zeal  for  the 
conversion  of  men,  to  oppose  all  the  forms  of  religious  ac- 
tivity, to  think  lightly  of  that  kind  of  preaching  which  has 
the  most  direct  tendency  to  affect  the  popular  mind,  and  to 
be  more  and  more  disgusted  with  what  seemed  to  them  en- 
thusiasm, extravagance  and  cant,  till  some  of  them,  and  par- 
ticularly Chauncey  himself,  became  apostles  of  the  most  de- 
structive heresies. 

With  this  third  party  Mr.  Noyes  appears  to  have  had  too 
much  sympathy.  If  I  mistake  not,  his  sense  of  personal 
injury,  his  love  of  old  steady  times,  and  his  disgust,  had 
made  him  too  much  like  one  of  those  old  school  men  of  this 
day,  whose  discourse  is  ever  of  the  degeneracy  of  the  times, 
and  who  are  alive  only  with  anxiety  and  panic  about  the 
progress  of  extravagance  and  error.  This  too  tended  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  separating  Church.  The  people, — the  best 
part  of  the  people, — who  knew  what  God  had  wrought  ; 
who  knew  how  many  family  altars  had  been  erected  in  con- 
sequence of  the  revival,  how  many  thoughtless  giddy  souls 
had  become  serious  and  devout,  how  much  vice  had  been 
checked,  and  the  knowledge  and  study  of  the  Scriptures  had 
been  promoted, — could  not  be  made  to  sympathize  perma- 
nently with  such  feelings.  And  on  the  other  hand,  the»new 
Church  having  for  its  distinctive  character  opposition  to  Mr. 
Noyes's  ministry,  had  less  and  less  sympathy  with  the  ex- 
travagances which  attended  its  origin,  and  grew  in  grace  as 
it  grew  in.  stature. 

The  religious  disputes  of  the  day  were  carried  into  politics, 
as  of  course  they  must  be  where  the  Churches  are  subject  to 
political  regulation.  At  first  the  legislature  made  severe  laws 
to  repress  the  itinerating  preachers  and  the  lay  exhorters,  and 
to  keep  every  pastor  from  invading  other  men's  parishes.  Un- 
der these  laws,  a  man  no  less  considerable  than  Samuel  Pin- 
ley,  afterwards  president  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  was 
seized  by  the  civil  authority  for  preaching  in  Milford,  and 
was  carried  as  a  vagrant  out  of  the  colony.  But  such  pro- 


232 

ceedings,  of  course,  produced  a  reaction.  The  new  light  side 
soon  became  the  side  of  liberty,  the  side  of  "  the  democracy," 
the  side  of  those  who  were  deemed  the  vulgar,  against  those 
who  considered  themselves  as  belonging  to  a  higher  class  in 
society.  Of  course  it  was  the  growing  side.  In  a  few  years, 
the  "  political  new  lights"  began  to  command  a  formidable 
influence  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  colony. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  College  began  to  feel  the  pressure 
of  this  state  of  things.  The  students  and  officers  of  the  Col- 
lege, had  always  worshiped  in  this  congregation,  and  attend- 
ing upon  a  separate  meeting,  even  in  vacation,  had  been 
treated  in  the  laws  of  the  College,  and  in  the  administration 
of  the  laws,  as  a  serious  offense.*  But  now  many  of  the 
students  began  to  have  decided  preferences  about  the  place 
of  worship,  and  many  parents,  placing  their  sons  here,  shared 
in  the  growing  prejudice  against  Mr.  Noyes.  The  President 
and  the  Corporation  had  been  greatly  opposed  to  the  "  new 
light"  party,  and  particularly  to  the  separate  meeting  here. 
One  of  the  Fellows,  Mr.  Cooke  of  Stratfield,  a  leading  agi- 
tator, had  been  called  to  account  before  the  Corporation,  for 
some  of  his  proceedings,  probably  for  his  part  in  organizing 
the  separation  here  ;  and  he  had  found  it  expedient  to  resign 
his  seat  at  the  Board.f  But  gradually,  the  President,  and 
the  dther  members  of  that  body  appear  to  have  become  con- 
vinced that  Mr.  Noyes  was  at  heart  opposed  to  receiving  a 
colleague  ;  and  that  he  had  art  enough  to  defeat  all  efforts  to 
that  end.  What  then  was  to  be  done  ?  The  College  was 
losing  its  favor  with  the  public  ;  and  was  there  no  remedy  ? 
A  timid  man,  or  a  man  of  less  grasp  and  force  of  mind,  would 
probably  have  petitioned  the  legislature  for  liberty  to  form 
the  students  into  a  distinct  congregation,  and  to  organize  a 
Church  in  College,  and  might  thus  have  exposed  the  institu- 

*  The  well  known  case  of  David  Brainerd,  will  be  noticed  on  a  subsequent 
page.  For  the  case  of  John  and  Ebenezer  Cleaveland,  (of  whom  John  was 
the  grandfather  of  the  Rev.  E.  L.  Cleaveland,  of  this  city,)  see  Trumbull, 
II,  129. 

t  College  Records. 


233 

tion  to  the  greatest  dangers.  But  President  Clap  conceived 
the  bold  idea  of  asserting  this  right  as  by  the  common  law 
inseparable  from  the  existence  of  a  College,  and  as  conce- 
ded, therefore,  by  the  charter  that  allowed  the  institution  to 
become  a  College.  All  parties  seem  to  have  been  taken  by 
surprise,  and  opposition  to  the  plan,  both  in  the  corporation 
and  out  of  it,  though  earnest,  was  ineffectual.  In  1753  pub- 
lic worship  was  commenced  in  the  College  Hall ;  and  efforts 
were  made  with  great  vigor  to  obtain  the  means  of  supporting 
a  Professor  of  Divinity,  who  should  be  the  pastor  of  the  Col- 
lege congregation.  In  pursuing  this  object,  the  President  be- 
came of  course  Mr.  Noyes's  earnest  opponent.  The  great  argu- 
ment for  raising  funds,  was  that  the  College  must  have  better 
preaching  than  Mr.  Noyes's,  more  instructive,  more  awaken- 
ing, more  orthodox.  Mr.  Noyes  though  a  member  of  the 
corporation,  and  for  a  long  time  the  secretary  of  that  body, 
was  vilified  before  the  legislature  and  elsewhere,  as  an  Ar- 
minian,  and  almost,  if  not  quite,  a  Deist.  That  he  was  an 
Arminian,  never  was  proved,  and  certainly  cannot  be  dis- 
proved. We  may  presume  that  as  he  found  himself  the  ob- 
ject of  increasing  odium  and  denunciation,  on  the  part  of 
those  whose  rallying  cry  was  '  Orthodoxy,'  he  was  increas- 
ingly disposed  to  differ  from  them  on  all  sorts  of  questions. 
At  one  time,  an  attempt  was  made  to  bring  him  before  the 
College  corporation,  that  he  might  be  examined  as  to  his  the- 
ological views,  and  thus  be  convicted  of  heresy.  Of  course 
he  met  the  attempted  usurpation  with  an  obstinate  resistance. 
For  resisting  it  successfully,  he  deserves  to  be  had  in  respect- 
ful remembrance. 

In  1755,  the  Rev.  Naphtali  Daggett  was  elected  Professor 
of  Divinity  in  the  College,  and  entered  on  the  duties  of  that 
office.  The  following  year,  an  earnest  effort  was  made  by 
the  people,  "  with  Mr.  Noyes's  good  liking"  to  make  him 
colleague  pastor  here,  and  thus  to  bring  back  the  College  to 
this  congregation.  When  that  proposal  had  been  declined, 
it  was  immediately  followed  by  a  request  that  the  professor 
should  preach  in  the  pulpit  of  this  Society,  half  the  time. 
30 


234 

The  attempt  failed,  because  the  corporation  could  not  be 
moved  from  the  purpose  of  maintaining  public  worship  al- 
ways within  the  walls  of  the  College.  I  need  not  say  how 
much  the  true  interests  of  this  Church,  as  well  of  the  Col- 
lege, were  promoted  by  this  arrangement. 

One  point  which  this  negotiation  clearly  demonstrates,  de- 
serves a  moment's  consideration.  The  Church  and  Society, 
and  their  minister,  are  commonly  reported  to  have  been  in 
those  days  entirely  Arminian.  Professor  Daggett  was  a 
preacher  of  the  most  "  proved  and  approved"  Calvinism.  Yet 
Mr.  Daggett's  preaching  was  "  to  the  very  good  liking  of  the 
said  Mr.  Noyes,  and  the  people  in  general ;"  and  Mr.  Noyes, 
to  obtain  the  aid  of  so  orthodox  a  divine,  freely  offered  to  re- 
linquish half  his  salary.  The  Society  was  not  satisfied  with 
merely  offering  a  call.  Having  referred  to  the  great  desire 
which  the  corporation  of  the  College  had  expressed,  especially 
for  the  sake  of  the  students,  to  have  orthodox  principles  incul- 
cated, "  as  contained  in  the  Confession  of  Faith  owned  in  the 
Churches  of  this  colony,  and  in  the  Assembly's  Catechism," 
they  adopted  a  solemn  declaration  in  these  words ; — "  That 
they  esteem  themselves  to  be,  and  always  to  have  been  set- 
tled and  built  upon  the  ecclesiastical  constitution  of  this  col- 
ony, both  in  doctrine  and  discipline,  which  doctrine  is  that 
contained  in  the  said  Confession  and  Catechism;  and  that 
they  are  not  only  willing  but  desirous  that  the  same  princi- 
ples and  no  other,  be  preached  in  the  pulpit, — and  the  same 
shall  by  no  means  be  offensive  to  us."  Does  not  this  indicate 
that  the  bitter  controversy  of  the  age  was  maintained  by  fac- 
tion and  passion,  quite  as  much  as  by  any  radical  or  irrecon- 
cileable  difference  of  principle  ? 

At  this  time,  the  long  continued  ecclesiastical  controversy 
in  the  town  was  manifestly  approaching  a  crisis.  It  began  to 
be  feared  on  one  side,  and  hoped  on  the  other,  that  the  "  new 
lights"  would  ere  long  become  the  majority.  The  Society 
in  its  meetings  began  to  manifest  a  desire  to  be  peaceably  rid 
of  them.  On  the  10th  of  February,  1755,  it  was  '-voted 
that  application  be  made  to  the  General  Assembly  for  relief;" 


235 

and  "  that  the  General  Assembly  be  humbly  requested  to 
enact,  either  (1)  that  those  persons  who  have  dissented  as 
aforesaid,  and  their  adherents,  be  disenabled  to  act  or  vote  in 
any  meeting  of  this  Society,  in  any  matter  that  respects  the 
ministry  and  the  building  or  repairing  the  meeting  house  of 
the  Society  ;  or  (2)  that  the  said  dissenters  and  their  adhe- 
rents be  set  off  from  this  Society  so  as  that  said  Society  may 
meet  and  vote  respecting  the  matters  aforesaid,  exclusive  of 
and  without  taxing  or  having  regard  to  said  dissenters  and 
their  adherents,  in  such  way  and  manner  as  said  General  As- 
sembly shall  see  fit."  The  "new  lights"  not  only  voted 
against  this  proposal,  but  entered  a  formal  protest  against  it. 
It  seems  that  this  application  was  unsuccessful.  A  year  after- 
wards when  the  attempt  to  settle  Mr.  Daggett  was  in  pro- 
gress, it  was  voted  that  "  this  Society  is  willing  that  those 
inhabitants  who  ordinarily  attend  on  the  ministry  of  Mr. 
Bird,  should  be  exempted  from  paying  any  part  of  such 
taxes,"  as  might  be  laid  for  the  settlement  and  support  of 
Mr.  Daggett ;  "  and  that  they  and  their  posterity  be  made  a 
body  corporate  or  ecclesiastical  society,  provided,  they  will 
apply  to  the  General  Assembly  therefor,  and  be  set  off  from 
this  Society."  A  few  days  afterwards,  a  large  committe  was 
appointed,  representing  both  parties,  to  "  project  some  method 
or  plan  to  divide  the  Society  in  some  just  and  reasonable 
manner."  This  committee  does  not  appear  to  have  arrived 
at  any  result.  In  March,  the  necessity  of  laying  a  tax  for 
the  completion  of  the  new  meeting  house,  was  made  the  oc- 
casion of  a  memorial  to  the  legislature  for  relief ;  but  against 
this  Mr.  Bird's  adherents  protested. 

The  grand  obstacle  all  along,  in  the  way  of  a  division, 
was  the  hope  which  the  separates  cherished,  of  getting  the 
property  not  of  the  Society  only,  but  of  the  Church  also,  into 
their  own  hands.  Secession  and  liberty  would  not  satisfy 
them.  They  judged  that  they  had  a  right  to  at  least  an 
equal  share  of  the  lands  and  funds,  which  the  Society  had 
acquired  from  various  sources.  They  felt  too  that  they  had 
as  good  a  right  as  any  body  to  the  peculiar  endowments,  and 
even  to  the  sacramental  vessels,  of  the  Church  from  which 


236 

they  had  seceded.  None  in  these  days  would  think  of  such 
a  claim.  They  never  would  have  thought  of  it,  if  they  had 
been  at  liberty  to  secede  when  they  first  desired  a  separation. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  January,  1757,  it  was  once  more 
resolved  that  application  be  made  to  the  General  Assembly 
to  have  the  inhabitants  divided  into  two  ecclesiastical  socie- 
ties ;  and  at  the  same  time  it  was  ordered,  that  all  the  inhab- 
itants have  liberty  to  enter  their  names  with  the  clerk  at  any 
time  before  the  first  of  May,  "declaring  to  which  party  they 
choose  to  belong,  by  the  general  distinction  of  Mr.  Noyes's 
party  and  Mr.  Bird's  party,"  so  that  the  division  into  two  par- 
ties might  be  made  according  to  what  is  now  called  "  elec- 
tive affinity."  In  regard  to  the  property  it  was  resolved, 
"  that  the  General  Assembly  be  desired,  upon  hearing  the 
parties,  to  judge  and  determine  how  the  same  ought  to  be 
disposed  of."  Mr.  Jared  Ingersoll  of  this  Church,  and  Mr. 
Samuel  Cooke  of  the  separate  Church,  were  appointed  agents 
in  behalf  of  the  Society  to  present  the  petition.  The  meet- 
ing was  adjourned  to  the  second  Monday  in  June ;  and  be- 
fore that  time,  it  was  expected  that  the  legislature  would  act 
on  the  petition. 

The  enrolling  of  the  names  of  all  the  inhabitants  accord- 
ing to  their  party  preferences  was  immediately  commenced  ; 
and  when  it  was  finished,  it  appeared  that  the  "  new  lights" 
were  the  majority.  By  some  means,  the  General  Assembly 
was  induced  to  continue  the  Society's  memorial  from  the 
May  session  to  the  session  in  October.  At  the  adjourned 
meeting  in  June,  it  was  voted  by  the  new  light  majority, 
that  the  memorial  be  withdrawn.  It  was  also  voted  to  "  elect 
and  call"  Mr.  Bird  to  be  "  a  minister  of  this  Society,"  and 
that  the  new  light  meeting  house  "  be  the  place  of  public 
worship  for  the  present."  Mr.  Bird  accepted  the  call  ;*  and 

*  I  transcribe  from  the  Society  records,  Mr.  Bird's  letter  accepting  the  call. 
The  address  of  the  letter  is,  "  To  Messrs.  David  Wooster,  James  Pierpont, 
and  William  Greenough,  .committee  from  the  First  Society  in  New  Haven. 
To  be  communicated." 

"  Gentlemen, — The  notice  you  have  taken  of  me,  and  the  respect  you 
have  shown  me,  in  given  me  a  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  among  you, 
is  acknowledged  with  gratitude.  I  have  calmly  and  deliberately  considered 


237 

at  a  subsequent  meeting,  an  annual  salary  was  voted  for  him. 
It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  "  old  lights"  to  exercise  the  grace 
of  patience,  and  to  record  their  protests. 

At  a  meeting  in  October,  it  was  voted,  that  whereas  the 
difficulties  in  the  Society  had  been  occasioned  by  "  the  great 
deficiencies  of  Mr.  Noyes  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,"  and 
particularly  by  his  "  neglecting  to  open,  explain,  and  inculcate 
some  of  the  great  and  important  doctrines  of  Christianity," 
and  his  "  imprudent"  and  "  inexcusable  conduct  with  regard 
to  the  settlement  of  a  colleague ;"  and  whereas  it  was  doubt- 
ful whether  the  contract  originally  made  with  Mr.  Noyes 
could  be  enforced  by  law,  owing  to  some  technical  informali- 
ties which  they  thought  they  had  discovered ;  and  whereas 
for  several  months,  Mr.  Noyes  had  not  attended  public  wor- 
ship at  the  place  appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the  Society, — 
therefore  a  committee  should  wait  on  Mr.  Noyes  "  and  inform 
him  that,  for  the  foregoing  reasons  among  many  others,  it  is 
the  desire  of  this  Society  that  he  would  desist  from  his  min- 
isterial labors  in  this  place,  and  that  no  farther  provision  will 
be  made  by  this  Society  for  his  support  and  maintenance." 
Mr.  Noyes  continued  his  labors  as  before  ;  and  he  took  pains 
to  remove  all  doubts  respecting  the  validity  of  the  contract 
under  which  he  was  settled,  by  bringing  an  action  against 
the  Society,  and  thus  enforcing  the  payment  of  his  salary. 

In  February,  1758,  a  proposal  was  formally  tendered  by 
the  adherents  of  Mr.  Bird  to  the  other  party,  that  a  division 
of  the  property,  both  that  belonging  to  the  Society  and  that 
which  was  peculiar  to  the  Church,  should  be  made  by  arbi- 
tration of  individuals  mutually  chosen.  The  proposal  being 
rejected  by  the  adherents  of  Mr.  Noyes,  who  would  not  for  a 

the  matter,  and  in  answer  say,  that  since  Providence  has  fixed  my  abode 
among  you,  I  shall  not  be  unwilling  to  serve  you  to  the  best  of  my  power; 
provided  due  encouragement  be  given  for  a  comfortable  subsistence  among 
you  so  long  as  it  may  be  the  pleasure  of  God  to  continue  me  in  the  work, 
and  my  labors  may  be  acceptable  to  you.  This  with  my  kindest  salutations 
to  you,  wishing  that  grace,  mercy  and  peace  may  be  multiplied  to  you  and 
yours,  and  asking  an  interest  in  your  prayers  for  me,  leaves  me  nothing  fur- 
ther but  to  subscribe  your  well  wisher  and  humble  servant, 

SAMI,.  BIRD." 
"  New  Haven,  Aug.  8th,  1757." 


238 

moment  entertain  any  overture  implying  that  the  property  of 
the  Church  belonged  to  the  Society,  was  ordered  to  be  put 
upon  record  "  as  a  standing  evidence  of  the  pacific  disposi- 
tion of  Mr.  Bird's  adherents."* 

At  the  same  meeting,  votes  were  adopted,  protesting  in  the 
strongest  terms  against  the  intended  ordination  of  Mr.  Whit- 
telsey  as  colleague  with  Mr.  Noyes  in  the  pastoral  care  of  this 
Church.  The  ordination  was  however  performed,  just  three 
weeks  afterwards.  This  event  doubtless,  tended  to  bring 
the  controversy  to  a  conclusion ;  for  thenceforward  the  per- 
sonal and  official  unpopularity  of  Mr.  Noyes  no  longer  ope- 
rated as  before,  to  weaken  the  hands  of  his  Church  and 
congregation. 

At  last  on  the  8th  of  January,  1759,  it  was  voted  to  apply 
to  the  General  Assembly  again  for  a  division  of  the  Society, 
and  that  all  questions  as  to  which  party  should  be  the  First 
Society,  and  how  the  property  in  dispute  should  be  divided, 
be  left  to  the  wisdom  of  the  legislature.  In  October  of  the 
same  year  the  request  was  granted.  The  adherents  of  this 
Church  were  made  the  First  Society ;  and  the  adherents  of 
the  separate  Church  were  incorporated  as  the  White  Haven 
Society.  The  plate  and  all  the  property  of  this  Church  re- 
mained undivided.  The  new  brick  meeting  house,  erected 
partly  by  the  funds  of  the  Church,  and  partly  by  donations 
from  individuals,  was  declared  the  property  of  the  First  So- 
ciety. The  old  meeting  house,  the  bell,  and  all  the  property 
which  had  belonged  to  the  Society  before  the  commence- 
ment of  the  difficulties,  was  declared  to  belong  to  the  two 
Societies  in  equal  proportions.  And  thus  the  controversy  of 
eighteen  years  was  concluded. 

Mr.  Noyes  lived  a  little  more  than  three  years  after  the 
ordination  of  his  colleague.  "  Finding  the  infirmities  of  age 
to  increase  upon  him,  he  very  much  desisted  from  the  public 
work  of  the  sanctuary,  and  entertained  himself  almost  wholly 

*  Under  this  record  as  it  stands  in  the  Society's  book,  some  later  pen  has 
written,  "  Quere,  Whether  there  are  not  sometimes  violent  gusts  of  wind  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean  ?'' 


239 

with  reading  and  conversing  with  his  friends  and  people. 
And  thus,"  says  his  colleague  and  successor,  "  he  seemed 
very  agreeably  to  pass  away  the  years  of  his  old  age,  often 
expressing  peculiar  satisfaction  in  the  present  peaceable  state 
of  his  flock,  and  the  provision  that  God  in  his  providence  had 
made  for  them."*  He  died  on  the  14th  of  June,  1761, 
aged  73  ;  and  his  dust  lies  under  this  edifice. 

As  he  left  behind  him  no  published  works,  and  as  none  of 
his  manuscripts  are  now  known  to  exist,  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  form  any  just  estimate  of  his  intellectual  powers  and 
attainments.  Mr.  Whittelsey,  who  knew  him  well  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  has  given  a  careful  delineation  of  his  char- 
acter in  a  manuscript  now  before  me.  "  Mr.  Noyes  was  a  gen- 
tleman of  good  natural  powers  ;  and  as  he  resided  at  the  Col- 
lege several  years  after  he  received  the  honors  of  it,  he  made 
himself  very  much  master  of  the  learning  taught  at  College 
in  that  day.  He  was  naturally  observing,  judicious,  and  pru- 
dent ;  and  these  very  useful  and  important  qualities,  he, 
from  time  to  time  improved  by  experience,  and  thence  was 
an  excellent  economist  in  the  management  of  the  affairs  both 
of  his  family  and  of  the  public.  His  conversation  was  very 
entertaining  and  useful ;  even  those  who,  after  the  difficulties 
arose  in  his  Church,  were  not  so  well  pleased  with  his  preach- 
ing and  public  ministerial  labors,  yet  allowed  him  to  have  an 
uncommon  talent  at  pleasing  and  instructing  in  private  and 
familiar  discourse.  In  public  prayers  he  was  equaled  by  few 
in  justness  of  sentiment,  and  in  readiness,  variety  and  aptness 
of  expression ;  on  special  occasions,  he  was  admired  for  his 
discernment  and  accuracy  in  noticing  every  particular  that 
was  proper  to  be  noticed,  and  in  choosing  expressions  that 
were  pertinent  and  well  adapted  to  the  occasion.  In  his 
public  discourses,  as  he  remembered  that  the  gospel  was  to 
be  preached  to  the  poor,  and  was  of  opinion  that  the  un- 
learned, the  more  ignorant  part  of  the  people,  stood  in  need 
of  instruction  and  help  more  than  others ;  so  he,  upon  prin- 
ciple, aimed  rather  to  be  plain,  familiar,  and  instructive,  than 

*  MS. 


240 

learned,  critical,  ornamental,  or  moving.*  Indeed,  in  ex- 
pounding passages  of  Scripture  occasionally,  he  discovered  a 
close  attention,  and  a  good  acquaintance  with  the  phraseology 
of  Scripture,  and  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  art  of  criti- 
cism. In  expounding  doubtful  passages,  and  treating  upon 
deep  and  mysterious  doctrines,  about  which  good  and  great 
men  had  entertained  different  sentiments,  he  was  always 
cautious,  and  judiciously  charitable  and  moderate." 

It  would  be  unjust  not  to  pay,  in  this  place,  some  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  Madam  Noyes.  She  was  the  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  the  Rev.  James  Pierpont,  and  the  only  child  of  his 
second  wife.  Distinguished  by  the  advantages  of  birth  and 
station,  she  was  more  distinguished  by  her  intellectual  and 
moral  endowments.  Her  example,  her  prayers,  and  her  un- 
wearied diligence  in  doing  good,  made  her,  from  early  youth 
to  the  most  venerable  age,  one  of  the  best  of  blessings,  not 
to  her  husband  and  children  only,  but  to  the  Church  and  to 
the  public.  Her  memory  long  nourished  here,  and  her  name 
was  greatly  honored,  even  by  those  who  remembered  her 
husband  with  aversion.  She  died  at  the  same  age  with  her 
husband,  having  survived  him  seven  years.f 

Need  I  say  what  lesson  we  ought  to  learn  from  the  pain- 
ful history  we  have  been  reviewing  ?  We  have  been  study- 
ing the  operation  of  party  spirit ;  and  how  instructive  is  the 
study  in  reference  to  our  own  duties  and  dangers.  That,  in 
our  times,  which  most  counteracts  and  threatens  to  turn  into 
bitterness  the  purest  affections  of  piety — that  which  tends 
most  to  the  perversion  and  progressive  corruption  of  religious 
doctrine,  and  to  prevent  the  just  understanding  and  applica- 
tion of  the  word  of  God — that  which,  most  of  all  things  in 

*  This,  however  well  expressed,  is  a  poor  apology  for  poor  preaching.  Ig- 
norant people  need  the  best  preaching ;  and  that  which  is  good  for  ignorant 
people,  is  good  for  the  most  enlightened.  I  have  heard  the  story,  that  Presi- 
dent Clap  once  undertook  to  expostulate  with  Mr.  Noyes  for  not  preaching 
better.  "  You  do  not  know,"  said  Mr.  Noyes,  "  what  an  ignorant  people  I 
have  to  preach  to."  "  Yes  I  do,"  said  the  President,  "  and  I  know  that  as 
long  as  you  preach  to  them  in  this  way,  they  always  will  be  ignorant." 

t  The  character  of  Madam  Noyes,  as  delineated  by  Mr.  Whittelsey,  in  a 
sermon  occasioned  by  her  death,  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  No.  XII. 


241 

the  Church,  dishonors  God,  exposes  the  name  of  Christ  to 
scorn,  and  grieves  the  Spirit  of  grace — is  the  party  spirit 
among  ministers  and  Churches,  which  so  much  talent  and  so 
much  industry  are  continually  laboring,  with  disastrous  suc- 
cess, to  fan  into  a  devouring  flame. 

During  the  period  which  has  now  been  reviewed,  the  coun- 
try was  passing  through  the  struggles  of  the  "  old  French 
wars."  The  French  monarchy  had  formed  a  gigantic  scheme 
of  dominion  in  America.  Having  possessed  itself  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  St.  Lawrence,  it  was  stretching  a  chain  of 
forts  and  trading  stations  from  the  one  to  the  other,  and  was 
designing  to  sweep  the  English  from  the  continent.  Two 
protracted  wars,  of  which  the  greatest  brunt  and  burthen 
came  upon  New  England,  annihilated  that  ambitious  project. 
The  first,  in  which  France  and  Spain  were  allied  against 
Great  Britain,  commenced  in  1740,  and  ended  in  1748  with 
the  treaty  of  Aix  la  Chapelle.  This  war  was  signalized  by 
that  most  adventurous  exploit  on  the  part  of  the  New  Eng- 
landers,  the  capture  of  Louisburg ;  and  it  first  made  Great 
Britain  acquainted  with  the  iron  energy  that  was  developing 
itself  in  this  unnoticed  corner  of  her  empire.  Signalized  as 
it  was  by  the  most  enthusiastic  exertions  on  the  part  of  New 
England,  and  by  the  most  unlocked  for  successes,  it  resulted 
in  nothing.  Peace  was  made  on  the  plan  of  restoring  every 
thing  to  the  state  before  the  war ;  and  then  both  parties  had 
as  it  were  a  breathing  time,  preparing  for  another  conflict. 
The  second  of  these  wars  commenced  in  1755,  and  ended 
in  1760,  with  the  conquest  of  Canada,  and  the  destruction 
of  the  French  scheme  of  empire  on  this  continent.  In  this 
war,  Connecticut  distinguished  herself  even  above  her  sis- 
ter colonies.  She  had  no  immediate  interest.  Her  terri- 
tory was  not  invaded ;  her  hearths  and  her  altars  were  far 
from  the  scene  of  conflict.  Yet,  year  after  year,  she  spon- 
taneously furnished  a  double  quota  of  men  and  of  all  the 
materials  of  war.  For  three  successive  campaigns,  she  kept 
in  the  field,  at  her  own  expense,  an  army  of  five  thousand 
men, — and  those,  not  wretched  conscripts  from  a  wretched 
31 


242 

peasantry,  nor  the  miserable  sweepings  from  the  streets  of 
cities,  but  hardy  freeholders  and  their  sons,  who  knew  how 
great  was  the  prize  for  which  they  were  contending ;  and 
who,  by  that  lavish  expenditure  of  treasure  and  of  blood, 
saved  their  posterity  from  becoming  the  vassals  of  a  popish 
despot,  and  opened  the  boundless  west  to  be  planted  by  the 
sons  of  New  England,  and  to  be  filled  with  New  England 
institutions.  Thus  the  colonies  were  made  to  know  their 
own  strength.  They  learned  that  their  own  armed  yeoman- 
ry, contending  for  their  rights,  for  their  hopes,  for  their  pos- 
terity, were  better  on  the  march  and  in  the  battle,  than  the 
mercenary  soldiers  of  Britain.  And  when,  about  twelve  years 
from  the  close  of  the  last  French  war,  the  long  expected  crisis 
came,  and  the  country  rose  in  arms  to  the  awful  struggle  for 
its  independence  ;  all  was  ready.  Those  who  commanded  at 
Bunker  Hill,  those  who  formed  and  trained  the  continental 
armies,  and  led  them  to  their  victories,  were  men  who,  in  the 
preceding  conflicts,  had  learned  the  art  of  war  by  contact 
with  its  stern  realities. 

In  those  preceding  conflicts,  New  England  moved  as  with 
one  soul.  The  "  old  light"  and  the  "  new  light"  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder.  New  Haven  gave  two  heroic  leaders, 
Whiting  from  the  old  Church,  and  Wooster  from  the  new, 
both  of  whom  rendered  the  most  important  services  to  their 
country,  and  one  of  whom  lived  long  enough  to  die  in  the 
more  desperate  conflict  of  the  revolution.* 

*  A  brief  but  just  tribute  is  paid  to  the  memory  of  these  two  citizens  of 
New  Haven  by  Prof.  Kingsley,  in  his  Historical  Discourse,  68.  It  is  not 
impertinent  to  transcribe  here  the  title  of  an  old  pamphlet.  "  The  Charac- 
ter and  Duty  of  Soldiers  illustrated,  in  a  Sermon  preached  May  25,  1755.  in 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Noyes's  meeting-house  in  New  Haven,  at  the  desire  of  Col. 
Nathan  Whiting,  to  the  military  company  under  his  command  in  the  present 
expedition  for  the  defence  of  the  British  Dominions  in  America.  By  Isaac 
Stiles,  A.  M.  Published  at  the  request  of  said  Colonel,  and  the  other  officers 
of  said  company.  Who  will  lead  me  into  Edom?  Wilt  not  thou,  O  God!  go 
forth  with  our  hosts  ? — DAVID.  So  Joshua  ascended  from  Gilgal,  he  and  all 
the  people  of  war  with  him,  and  all  the  mighty  men  of  valor  :  and  the  Lord 
said  unto  Joshua,  Fear  not ;  for  I  have  delivered  them  into  thine  hand; — there 
shall  not  a  man  of  them  stand  before  thee. — JOSHUA.  New  Haven  :  Printed 
and  sold  by  James  Parker,  at  the  Post  office.  MDCCLV." 


DISCOURSE    XII. 

CHAUNCEY  WHITTELSEY   AND    HIS    MINISTRY. THE  AGE    OF  THE 

REVOLUTION. 

PSALM  cxxiv,  1—3.  If  it  had  not  been  the  Lord  who  was  on  our  sidej 
may  Israel  now  say,  if  it  had  not  been  the  Lord  who  was  on  our  side  when 
men  rose  up  against  us,  then  they  had  swallowed  us  up  quick,  when  their 
wrath  was  kindled  against  us. 

HAVING  said  all  that  the  plan  of  these  discourses  will  per- 
mit respecting  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Noyes,  I  now  proceed  to 
speak  of  the  life,  labors  and  character  of  his  successor. 

The  Rev.  Chauncey  Whittelsey  was  born  at  Wallingford, 
Oct.  28,  1717.  His  father,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Whittelsey,  was 
the  second  pastor  of  the  Church  in  that  place,  a  man  greatly 
distinguished  in  his  day  for  his  abilities  and  his  public  useful- 
ness. His  mother  was  a  granddaughter  of  the  famous  Presi- 
dent Chauncey  of  Harvard  College.  From  both  parents  he 
inherited  strong  mental  powers,  which  were  highly  cultiva- 
ted by  education.  He  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1738, 
and  continued  his  classical  studies  as  a  resident  graduate  on 
Bishop  Berkeley's  foundation.  At  the  resignation  of  Rector 
Williams,  which  took  place  in  1739,  Mr.  Whittelsey  was 
elected  a  tutor.  He  served  the  public  in  that  office  six 
years,  and  was  concerned  in  the  instruction  of  four  classes, 
two  of  which  received  a  great  part  of  their  education  under 
him.  Many  of  his  pupils  became  afterwards  greatly  distin- 
guished in  the  Church  and  in  the  commonwealth.  Presi- 
dent Stiles  says  of  him,— "He  was  an  excellent  classical 
scholar,  well  acquainted  with  the  three  learned  languages, 
the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  but  especially  the  Latin  and 
Greek.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  Geography,  Mathe- 
matics, Natural  Philosophy,  and  Astronomy,  with  Moral 
Philosophy  and  History,  and  with  the  general  cyclopaedia  of 
Literature.  He  availed  himself  of  the  advantages  of  an 
academic  life,  and  amassed,  by  laborious  reading,  a  great 


244 

treasure  of  wisdom ;  and  for  literature,  he  was,  in  his  day, 
oracular  at  College,  for  he  taught  with  facility  and  success  in 
every  branch  of  knowledge.  He  had  a  very  happy  talent  at 
instruction  and  communicating  the  knowledge  of  the  liberal 
arts  and  sciences."*  Religious  himself  from  his  early  youth, 
he  did  not  fail  to  urge  religious  truth  and  duty  upon  those 
who  were  under  his  instruction.  His  pupils  afterwards  re- 
garded him  with  great  respect.  One  of  the  most  illustrious 
of  them  said  of  him,  at  his  funeral,  "  I  shall  never  forget  the 
pathetic  and  earnest  recommendations  of  early  piety  which 
he  gave  to  us  in  the  course  of  the  tutorship." 

It  was  during  his  official  connection  with  College,  that  the 
institution,  the  town,  and  the  whole  of  New  England,  were 
shaken  with  the  religious  agitation  of  1740.  At  that  very 
period,  (Sept.  30,  1740, )f  he  was  first  licensed  to  preach  as  a 
candidate  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Before  this,  in  the 
first  year  of  his  tutorship,  he  was  solicited  to  become  a  can- 
didate for  settlement  in  a  neighboring  parish,  (Amity,)  which 
he  declined,  partly  because  of  his  College  engagements,  and 
partly  because  he  considered  himself  not  yet  qualified  for  the 
work.  In  reference  to  that  request,  I  find  him,  recording  in 
his  private  journal — of  which  a  single  leaf  is  all  that  re- 
mains— the  following  thoughts  :  "  Having  repeatedly  com- 
mended my  case  to  God  by  prayer,  and,  I  think,  strictly  and 
impartially  examined  myself,  I  am  obliged  to  think  myself 
as  yet  too  little  acquainted  with  God,  the  Scriptures,  human 
nature  in  general,  and  my  own  heart  in  particular,  to  venture 
to  undertake  the  great  and  important  work  of  the  ministry. 

0  God  !  fit  me  for  that  noble  and  honorable  employment,  if 
it  be  thy  will  that  I  should  be  improved  in  it.     Let  me  not 
enter  upon  it  without  thy  direction  and  blessing.     Lord  Je- 
sus !  mighty  Head  of  the  Church  !  fit  me  for  thy  service,  and 
improve  me  in  thy  vineyard.     But  unless  thou  go  forth  with 
me,  let  me  not  go  forth  upon  that  weighty  business.     O  may 

1  never  be  an  idle  spectator  or  a  slothful  laborer  in  the  vine- 

*  Funeral  Sermon,  24.  t  Records  of  Association. 


245 

yard  of  my  God.  May  I  be  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  in 
the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  good  and  salvation  of  souls. 
May  I  wait  God's  time,  be  resigned  to  his  will,  aim  at  his 
glory,  have  more  of  the  meek  and  humble  spirit  of  Jesus 
Christ,  be  more  and  more  weaned  from  the  world,  and  live 
above  it,  that  I  may  preach  the  gospel  in  truth,  not  influen- 
ced therein  by  the  fear  of  man ;  but  may  I  speak  the  truth 
boldly  in  Christ,  and  be  blessed  by  him." 

This  is  none  other  than  that  "  tutor  Whittelsey,"  known 
to  thousands  in  both  hemispheres  as  the  man  of  whom  David 
Brainerd  declared :  "  He  has  no  more  grace  than  this  chair !" 
David  Brainerd  came  to  College  at  the  same  time  at  which 
Mr.  Whittelsey  was  introduced  as  tutor. '  During  his  Fresh- 
man and  Sophomore  years,  he  had  "found  divine  life  and 
spiritual  refreshment"  in  the  ordinances,  and  his  soul  had 
enjoyed  "  sweet  and  precious  frames,"  even  under  the  ad- 
ministration and  preaching  of  Mr.  Noyes.  When  Whitefield 
made  his  first  visit  here,  Brainerd  was  spending  his  vacation 
at  home  in  Haddam.  Near  the  close  of  January,  in  his 
Sophomore  year,  he  esteemed  himself  to  have  "  grown  more 
cold  and  dull  in  religion,  by  means  of  his  "  old  temptation, 
ambition  in"  his  "  studies."  But  in  the  month  of  February, 
he  was  quickened  by  "  a  great  and  general  awakening"  which 
spread  itself  over  the  College  and  the  town.*  In  March,  Gil- 
bert Tennent,  then  returning  from  his  labors  in  Boston  to 
New  Jersey,  visited  New  Haven,  and  in  the  course  of  a  week 
preached  seventeen  sermons,  most  of  them  in  the  meeting 
house,  two  or  three  in  the  College  Hall ;  and  thus  the  work 
previously  begun,  became  an  overpowering  excitement.f 
Amid  so  great  an  excitement  of  feeling,  in  himself  and  in 
others  around  him,  Brainerd's  growth  in  grace  was  probably 
not  equal  to  his  enjoyment,  or  his  activity  in  promoting  the 
work.  Six  months  afterwards,  came  Davenport  with  his 
wildfire,  his  denunciations,  his  extravagances,  to  draw  off  a 
part  of  the  congregation  and  establish  a  separate  meeting. 

*  Edwards's  Works,  x,  45—50.  t  Hopkins's  Life  of  himself. 


246 

Then  it  was  preeminently  that,  in  the  words  of  Edwards, 
"an  intemperate  and  imprudent  zeal,  and  a  degree  of  enthu- 
siasm, crept  in  and  mingled  itself  with  the  revival  of  religion." 
Then  it  was  that  Brainerd,  far  more  than  at  any  other  period 
of  his  life,  "  had  the  unhappiness  to  have  a  tincture  of  that 
intemperate,  indiscreet  zeal  which  was  at  that  time  too  prev- 
alent, and  was  led  from  his  high  opinion  of  others  whom  he 
looked  upon  as  better  than  himself,  into  such  errors  as  were 
really  contrary  to  the  habitual  temper  of  his  mind."  Then 
it  was  that  those  "  imprudences  and  indecent  heats,"  as  he 
called  them,  found  place  in  his  diary,  on  account  of  which  he 
afterwards  on  his  death  bed,  consigned  to  the  flames  all  the 
records  of  his  feelings  from  January,  1741,  to  April,  1742. 
Then  it  was  that  when  the  rector  of  the  College  forbade  his 
going  to  the  separate  meeting,  he  went  in  defiance  of  author- 
ity. Then  it  was  that,  on  one  occasion,  after  Mr.  Whittel- 
sey  had  been  praying  with  the  students  in  the  College  Hall, 
and  had  uttered  his  devout  desires  with  more  than  usual  pa- 
thos of  expression,  David  Brainerd  replied  to  a  question  by 
one  of  his  zealous  companions :  "  He  has  no  more  grace  than 
this  chair." 

If  what  I  have  already  quoted  from  Mr.  Whittelsey's  pri- 
vate journal,  is  not  sufficient  to  show  his  humility,  his 
jealousy  of  himself,  his  hungering  and  thirsting  after  right- 
eousness, and  his  dependence  upon  Christ  alone,  and  thus  to 
demonstrate  the  slanderousness  of  Brainerd's  rash  judgment 
respecting  him;  let  us  examine  a  little  farther  the  con- 
tents of  this  worn  and  broken  leaf  from  the  journal  of  the 
man  whom  Brainerd,  inoculated  with  censoriousness,  pro- 
nounced to  be  destitute  of  grace.  Under  the  date  of  "  Mon- 
day, July  6,"  1739,  he  says,  "  Yesterday  was  sacrament,  at 
which  I  renewed  my  covenant,  at  least  externally,  with  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  having  set  apart  the  day  before  for  prepa- 
ration by  fasting  and  prayer,  and  examination  of  my  own 
heart.  But  I  could  not  obtain  that  satisfaction  as  to  my 
estate  Godward,  which  I  earnestly  desire,  and  without  which 
I  cannot,  and  I  pray  God  I  may  not  be  easy.  My  difficulty 


247 

is  chiefly  for  fear  I  was  never  brought  thoroughly  off  from 
myself  and  my  dependence  on  my  own  works  for  accept- 
ance with  God,  and  to  resign  myself  up  entirely  into  the 
hands  of  a  holy  and  sovereign  God,  and  actually  to  close 
with,  and  receive  Christ  Jesus  for  my  alone  and  all-sufficient 
Saviour,  as  my  prophet,  priest  and  king.  Yet  I  feel  in  my 
soul  some  working  so  much  like  it,  if  it  is  not  genuine,  that 
I  cannot  entirely  renounce  my  hopes.  -O  Lord !  let  me  not 
be  deceived."  "  I  am  resolved,  by  Divine  grace,  that  I  will 
spend  my  time  more  carefully,  and  watchfully,  and  account- 
ably for  the  future,  knowing  that  that,  and  all  my  other  tal- 
ents, are  not  my  own,  but  only  lent  to  me  to  be  improved  ; 
and  that  I  have  also  dedicated  them  to  the  Lord.  O  how  ex- 
ceedingly have  I  come  short  of  my  obligations  !  Lord,  for- 
give me,  for  Christ's  sake :  and  enable  me  to  live  more  to 
thine  honor  and  glory  hereafter.  O  whither  shall  I  go  but 
unto  thee  ?  Lord,  help  me  under  all  my  darkness  and  diffi- 
culty, for  thy  mercy's  sake  alone  !" 

"  August  2d,  Sabbath  evening,"  he  writes  again,  "  This 
day  I  joined  with  the  Church  of  Christ  in  this  place  in  cele- 
brating the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper."  Then,  having 
spoken  of  the  lifelessness  of  his  feelings  in  the  ordinance,  he 
adds,  "  I  fear  there  is  nothing  right  in  me  towards  the  Lord 
my  God.  But  if  there  is,  I  have  some  way  provoked  the 
Spirit  of  God  to  withdraw  from  me.  I  am  exceedingly  de- 
pressed by  my  sins.  Lord  let  me  not  be  deceived  for  thy 
name's  sake,  for  thy  mercy's  sake  !  For  thy  Son's  sake  have 
pity  on  me,  and  save  me !" 

The  next  date  is  "  August  7th,  Friday."  "  I  have  been 
all  this  week,  and  am  still,  exceedingly  in  the  dark.  O  my 
sin !  my  guilt !  Without  Christ  I  see  no  way  possible  but 
that  I  must  perish  eternally.  O  Lord,  let  not  what  he  has 
done  and  suffered  be  in  vain  to  my  soul.  O  that  Christ  might 
be  mine,  and  I  his.  Surely,  O  Lord,  there  is  none  in  heaven 
like  unto  thee,  nor  any  on  earth  to  be  compared  with  thee." 
— "  O  can  a  holy  God  have  pity  on  such  a  sinner  as  I  have 
been  ?  From  such  a  lump  of  deformity  as  my  heart,  can 


248 

there  be  created  a  vessel  of  honor  for  the  service  of  the  great 
God  ?     Lord,  with  thee  all  things  are  possible." 

I  might  say  now,  if  I  supposed  that  there  were  any  doubt 
here  respecting  the  piety  of  this  man,  Compare- these  breath- 
ings of  penitence  and  devotion  with  any  parallel  passages  in 
Brainerd's  own  journal,  and  tell  me  whether  even  Brainerd's 
records  seem  more  like  the  broken  heart  and  the  contrite 
spirit  which  God  will  not  despise,  or  more  like  a  heart  that 
knows  its  own  deceitfulness.  But  I  choose  rather  to  call 
your  attention  to  another  view.  Brainerd,  who  always  felt 
whatever  he  did  feel  with  all  his  soul,  and  who  knew  as  little 
as  a  child,  of  the  analysis  of  complicated  motives  and  emo- 
tions,— Brainerd,  carried  away  with  a  gust  of  inconsiderate 
zeal  and  a  spirit  of  censoriousness  caught  by  his  quick  sym- 
pathy with  others,  and  admiring  the  passionate  extravagances 
of  the  wandering  Davenport,  saw  nothing  which  seemed  to 
him  like  the  grace  of  God,  in  the  staid,  self-possessed,  deco- 
rous piety  of  tutor  Whittelsey.  To  him,  the  tutor's  prayers 
against  self-deception,  and  for  a  knowledge  of  the  deceitful- 
ness  of  the  heart,  however  fervent  and  pathetic,  however  full 
of  humiliation  and  contrition,  seemed  formal  and  dead,  com- 
pared with  the  freedom  and  fearlessness,  the  familiarity  and 
vulgarity  of  the  itinerants,  whose  preaching  caused  so  great 
an  excitement.  The  rector  and  tutors,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  very  naturally  dissatisfied  with  that  sort  of  piety,  which 
was  inconsistent  not  only  with  what  they  esteemed  decorum, 
but  with  the  order  of  College,  and  with  a  due  attention  to  the 
daily  duty  of  study.  They  were  alarmed  at  the  growing 
propensity  among  the  students  to  violate  not  only  the  rules 
of  College,  but  the  law  of  the  land,  by  running  away  from 
the  appointed  place  of  worship  to  the  separate  meeting. 
They  probably  had  an  eye  on  Brainerd,  as  one  who  would 
be  likely  by  his  religious  zeal  to  come  into  conflict  with 
their  authority.  And  very  likely  they  were  quite  willing  to 
be  rid  of  him,  and  to  inflict  a  signal  blow  upon  the  intemper- 
ate spirit  of  the  times,  by  dealing  sternly  with  him  for  that 
calumnious  censure  of  his  superior.  Accordingly,  Brainerd 


249 

was  disgraced  and  expelled ;  and  though  he  afterwards  made 
ample  and  penitent  confession  of  all  that  was  wrong  in  his 
conduct  on  that  occasion,  he  could  not  be  restored.  They 
doubtless  had  as  low  an  idea  of  his  piety,  as  he,  in  his  most 
censorious  mood,  had  of  theirs.  Their  common  error  had  a 
common  cause.  They  judged  of  each  other  by  a  wrong 
standard.  They  yielded  to  their  feelings,  their  party  preju- 
dices, their  antipathies.  Brainerd  was  a  child  of  God,  though 
he  was  carried  away  by  the  unhappy  extravagances  of  the 
times, — even  then  the  processes  were  going  on  within  him, 
by  which  the  Spirit  of  God  made  him,  afterwards,  so  illus- 
trious an  example  of  holiness.  He  too,  whom  Brainerd  pro- 
nounced graceless,  was  a  child  of  God,  notwithstanding  his 
opposition  to  what  Brainerd  deemed  the  work  of  God  ; — even 
then  he  was  keeping  his  heart  with  all  diligence,  and  strug- 
gling to  bring  every  thought  into  subjection  to  the  gospel.* 

In  1745,  Mr.  Whittelsey  resigned  his  office  in  College,  and 
for  reasons  which  do  not  appear,  relinquished  his  design  of 
entering  into  the  ministry,  and  settled  in  this  place  as  a  mer- 
chant. He  continued  in  business  about  ten  years.  During 
all  that  time  he  was  an  active  member  of  this  Church  and 
Society.  He  was  brought  forward  by  his  fellow  citizens  into 
political  life.  He  represented  this  town  in  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  colony,  and  "  in  a  variety  of  public  trusts  he 
discharged  himself  with  fidelity  and  growing  influence." 

At  length,  after  the  affairs  of  the  Society  had  arrived  at  the 
greatest  perplexity,  the  members  and  partisans  of  the  separa- 
ting congregation  having  become  a  majority  in  all  society 
meetings,  and  the  efforts  to  obtain  the  services  of  the  Col- 
lege professor  of  divinity,  as  assistant  minister,  having  proved 

*  Peabody  (Life  of  Brainerd,  274)  says  in  regard  to  the  language  so  un- 
fortunately uttered  against  Mr.  Whittelsey,  that  it  was  "  a  phrase  which  that 
individual  fully  justified  by  his  subsequent  proceedings."  What  knowledge 
he  has  of  Mr.  Whittelsey's  subsequent  proceedings,  he  does  not  inform  us. 
There  is  no  particle  of  evidence,  that  the  proceedings  of  the  College  govern- 
ment were  instigated  or  directed  by  the  injured  individual.  It  may  be  pre- 
sumed, that,  so  far  as  the  College  government  is  to  be  blamed,  the  blame  be- 
longs chiefly  to  the  rector. 

32 


250 

unsuccessful,  the  Church  with  entire  unanimity  elected  Mr. 
Whittelsey  to  be  colleague  pastor  with  Mr.  Noyes.  The 
concurrence  of  the  Society,  as  a  legal  body,  was  of  course 
out  of  the  question  ;  for  the  Church  and  those  who  adhered 
to  the  old  pastor  had  already  become  a  separate  meeting, 
with  a  place  of  worship  erected  by  themselves.  Instead  of 
this,  the  members  of  the  congregation  worshiping  with  the 
Church,  united  in  a  subscription  to  a  paper  expressing  their 
preference  of  Mr.  Whittelsey,  and  pledging  him  a  support  in 
case  of  his  settlement  as  pastor  of  the  Church.  Accordingly 
a  council  was  convened,  at  the  call  of  Mr.  Noyes  and  the 
Church,  on  the  last  day  of  February,  1758.  The  Churches 
of  Cheshire,  North  Haven,  North  Branford,  Meriden.  Milford, 
East  Guilford,  West  Haven,  and  Amity,  were  present  by 
their  pastors  and  delegates.  The  vote  of  the  Church,  and 
the  call  and  pledge  by  the  members  of  the  congregation,  were 
laid  before  the  council ;  and  it  was  also  shown  that  the 
Church  in  electing  Mr.  Whittelsey,  "  had  proceeded  regu- 
larly by  the  advice  of  the  Association's  committee  and  some 
neighboring  ministers  beside."  A  committee  from  the  First 
Society  in  New  Haven,  appeared  before  the  council  and  pre- 
sented a  vote  of  the  Society,  "  declaring  against  the  ordina- 
tion of  Mr.  Whittelsey  or  any  other  candidate."  The  argu- 
ments and  considerations  offered  by  the  committee  in  behalf 
of  the  Society  were  heard  by  the  council ;  and  then  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Church  was  heard  in  reply.  The  decision  of 
the  council  was,  "  that  there  had  been  no  sufficient  objec- 
tions made  against  their  proceeding ;"  and  of  course  they 
proceeded  to  the  customary  examination  of  the  candidate, 
which  occupied  the  remainder  of  the  day.  The  next  morn- 
ing when  the  council  assembled,  the  Society's  committee 
appeared  again,  and  moved  for  liberty  of  an  appeal,  request- 
ing that  the  affair  of  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Whittelsey  might 
be  laid  aside,  and  removed  from  this  ordaining  council  to  the 
consideration  and  determination  of  the  whole  Consociation 
of  the  county.  After  mature  consideration,  "  the  council 
were  of  opinion  that  our  ecclesiastical  constitution  made  no 


251 

provision  for,  nor  warranted  appeals  of  that  sort."  Mr.  Whit- 
telsey  was  accordingly  "  separated  to  the  work  of  the  gospel 
ministry,  and  inducted  into  the  pastoral  office  in  and  over  the 
first  Church  and  congregation  of  New  Haven."* 

At  this  time,  Mr.  Whittelsey  was  in  the  fortieth  year  of 
his  age.  His  ministry,  though  begun  so  late  in  life,  and  in 
circumstances  so  inauspicious,  was  long  peaceful,  and  for  the 
age  in  which  he  labored,  prosperous.  The  Church  and  con- 
gregation were  perfectly  united  in  him ;  and  during  the  whole 
period  of  his  ministry,  there  appears  to  have  been  no  division 
among  them,  and  no  alienation  of  their  affections  from  him. 

I  have  said  his  ministry  was  prosperous,  for  the  age  in 
which  he  labored.  This  remark  may  need  some  explana- 
tion. That  age  was  in  several  respects  unfavorable  to  the 
prosperity  of  religion.  The  "  religious  commotion,"  as  Ed- 
wards calls  it,  of  1740,  or  more  strictly  the  extravagance  of 
action  and  of  opinion  into  which  that  revival  degenerated, 
was  long  followed  by  a  lamentable  reaction.  He  who  reads 
the  letters  of  President  Edwards  during  the  latter  years  of 
his  life,  will  find  many  strong  testimonies  to  this.  Let  me 
give  one  or  two  specimens.  The  first  is  from  a  letter  written 
as  early  as  1750.  "It  is  indeed  now  a  sorrowful  time  on 
this  side  of  the  ocean.  Iniquity  abounds,  and  the  love  of 
many  waxes  cold.  Multitudes  of  fair  and  high  professors, 
in  one  place  and  another,  have  sadly  backslidden ;  sinners 
are  desperately  hardened  ;  experimental  religion  is  more  than 
ever  out  of  credit  with  the  far  greater  part  j  and  the  doc- 
trines of  grace,  and  those  principles  in  religion  that  do  chiefly 
concern  the  power  of  godliness,  are  far  more  than  ever  dis- 
carded. Arminianism  and  Pelagianism  have  made  a  strange 
progress  within  a  few  years." — "  Many  professors  are  gone 
off  to  great  lengths  in  enthusiasm  and  extravagance  in  their 
notions  and  practices.  Great  contentions,  separations,  and 
confusions  in  our  religious  state,  prevail  in  many  parts  of  the 
land."f  In  the  same  connection,  he  mentions  the  fact  that 

*  Church  records.  t  D wight,  Life  of  Edwards,  413. 


252 

not  a  few  had  been  drawn  off  from  the  Congregational  wor- 
ship, to  a  conformity  with  the  Church  of  England  ;  so  that 
the  numbers  of  that  denomination  in  New  England,  had 
been  multiplied  threefold  within  seven  years.  In  another 
letter,  dated  in  1751,  he  says,  "There  are  undoubtedly  very 
many  instances  in  New  England,  in  the  whole,  of  the  per- 
severance of  such  as  were  thought  to  have  received  the  sav- 
ing benefits  of  the  late  revival  of  religion,  and  of  their  con- 
tinuing to  walk  in  newness  of  life  and  as  becomes  saints, — 
instances  which  are  incontestible  and  which  men  must  be 
most  obstinately  blind  not  to  see  ;  but  I  believe  the  propor- 
tion here  is  not  so  great  as  in  Scotland.  I  cannot  say,  that 
the  greater  part  of  supposed  converts  give  reason,  by  their 
conversation,  to  suppose  that  they  are  true  converts.  The 
proportion  may  perhaps  be  more  truly  represented,  by  the 
proportion  of  the  blossoms  on  a  tree  which  abide  and  come 
to  mature  fruit,  to  the  whole  number  of  blossoms  in  the 
spring."* 

The  religious  contentions  which  sprung  up  in  so  many 
places  in  connexion  with,  or  soon  after,  the  "  religious  com- 
motion" of  1740 — the  alienation  of  Church  from  Church, 
and  minister  from  minister,  and  party  from  party,  the  jeal- 
ousy, the  recriminations,  the  strife,  and  in  many  instan- 
ces the  settled  hostility, — were  greatly  unfavorable  to  the 
progress  of  religion.  When  ministers  and  Churches  ex- 
communicate each  other,  and  refuse  to  hold  fraternal  in- 
tercourse, because  of  differences  that  do  not  directly  affect 
the  essentials  of  Christianity ;  the  surest  effect,  if  not  the 
first,  is  that  religion  falls  into  contempt.  Such  was,  to  a 
painful  extent,  the  state  of  the  Churches  generally  in  New 
England  through  the  latter  half  of  the  last  century.  Such 
was  particularly  the  religious  state  of  this  community,  for  a 
great  portion  of  that  period.  The  violent  rending  of  the 
White  Haven  Church  from  this,  produced  a  wound  which 
continued  long  unhealed.  Mr.  Bird  was  dismissed  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1768  ;  and,  one  year  afterwards,  the  Rev. 

*  Dvvight,  Life  of  Edwards.  460. 


253 

Jonathan  Edwards  was  ordained  to  the  pastoral  office  in  that 
Society.  Bat  this  event,  instead  of  putting  an  end  to  con- 
tentions previously  existing,  gave  rise  to  a  new  division.  A 
very  considerable  minority  protested  against  the  ordination  of 
Mr.  Edwards ;  but  their  objections  were  overruled  by  the 
ordaining  council,  it  being  hoped  that  the  great  talents  of  the 
pastor  would  unite  the  congregation.  The  opposition,  how- 
ever, instead  of  diminishing,  increased,  and  about  two  years 
after  the  ordination  of  Edwards,  another  Church  was  formed 
by  secession  from  his.  This  secession  was  incorporated  as 
the  Fair  Haven  Society ;  and,  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev. 
Allyn  Mather,  it  became  in  a  few  years  the  most  numerous 
Society  of  the  three.  It  was  not  in  any  orderly  manner,  nor 
by  any  consent  of  the  parties,  or  of  neighboring  Churches, 
that  this  secession  was  effected.  The  division  in  many  re- 
spects greatly  resembled  that  which  took  place  in  1742.  And 
the  three  Churches,  instead  of  uniting  in  any  affectionate 
communion  or  in  any  willing  cooperation  for  the  common 
cause,  united  only  in  exposing  religion  to  contempt,  and  in 
weakening  the  power  of  Christian  institutions  by  their  mu- 
tual hostility.  That  in  such  an  age  religion  was  *iot  pros- 
perous, will  not  seem  wonderful. 

That  too  was  the  age  of  the  revolution.  The  preparation 
for  the  revolution,  the  long  continued  excitement  of  anxiety 
and  alarm,  at  one  measure  and  another  attempted  for  the  en- 
tire subjection  of  the  Colonies  to  the  crown  or  to  the  parlia- 
ment, filled  all  men's  hearts  arid  thoughts.  The  interests  at 
stake  were  the  grandest  interests  of  time,  and  when  such  in- 
terests were  thus  invaded,  and  men  were  gradually  becoming 
inflamed  for  war,  and  arming  themselves  for  combat, — who 
that  knows  the  nature  of  man  and  the  methods  in  which 
God  ordinarily  dispenses  his  grace,  could  expect  religion  to 
be  prosperous? 

And  when  at  last  the  time  of  deadly  conflict  came,  great 
as  was  the  demand  for  faith  in  God,  and  for  the  highest  and 
most  heroic  virtues, — who  does  not  know  that  it  was  a  time 
rather  for  the  exercise  and  expenditure  of  virtues  already 


254 

acquired,  than  for  the  diffusion  of  the  influences  of  religion 
over  the  common  mind  ?  The  time  of  war,  of  imminent  and 
universal  danger,  of  civil  conflict,  of  revolution,  when  all 
foundations  are  breaking  up,  if  it  is  a  time  when  he  that  is 
holy  may  be  holy  still,  is  also  a  time  when  he  that  is  filthy 
will  be  filthy  still.  Think  of  those  days ;  think  what  a  con- 
flict it  was  when  only  three  millions  of  people,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent disorganized,  disunited  except  by  the  pressure  of  a  com- 
mon danger  and  the  bond  of  a  common  zeal  for  liberty, — 
dared  to  resist  the  power  of  the  British  empire.  "  If  it  had 
not  been  the  Lord  that  was  on  our  side,  may  Israel  say,  if  it 
had  not  been  the  Lord  that  was  on  our  side,  when  men  rose 
up  against  us  ;  then  had  they  swallowed  us  up  quick,  when 
their  wrath  was  kindled  against  us."  How  naturally  was 
this  text  chosen  by  Mr.  Whittelsey  as  the  theme  of  discourse 
on  a  day  of  national  thanksgiving,*  while  the  war  was  raging, 
and  while  God  was  interposing  with  some  of  those  remarka- 
ble providences  which  make  the  history  of  those  years  so  in- 
teresting. How  ought  we,  in  view  of  the  perils  through 
which  the  God  of  our  fathers  conducted  these  States  to  com- 
plete political  independence,  to  adopt  as  our  own  that  ancient 
language  of  Hebrew  devotion. 

I  find  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Whittelsey,  a  note  dated 
August  4,  1776,  communicating  to  him  a  circular  from  Gov- 
ernor Trumbull,  with  the  request  that  it  be  read  at  the  close 
of  public  worship,  and  that  the  authority  in  this  Society,  and 
the  committee  of  inspection,  be  invited  to  meet  with  the  se- 
lect men  the  next  day.  As  there  is  a  peculiar  vividness  in 
the  impressions  which  such  documents  give  us,  I  need  not 
apologize  for  presenting  it.  The  circular  is  addressed  "  to 
the  civil  authority,  select  men,  committee  of  inspection,  and 
all  military  officers  in  the  town  of  New  Haven,"  and  is  dated 
"  Lebanon,  August  1,  1776."  The  Governor  says,  "  As  I 
have  the  most  pressing  requisitions,  urging  the  absolute  ne- 
cessity of  having  our  new  levies  filled  up,  completed  and  for- 


MS. 


255 

warded  with  the  utmost  dispatch ;  and  as  delay  may  be 
attended  with  the  utmost  disastrous  consequences,  our  ene- 
mies being  about  to  use  their  utmost  exertions  as  soon  as  the 
foreign  troops  arrive,  which  by  the  best  intelligence  are  now 
on  our  coast,  if  not  in  port ; — therefore  in  this  critical  mo- 
ment, on  which  the  fate  of  America  depends,  I  do  most  ear- 
nestly entreat  you  all,  as  you  value  your  lives,  liberty,  prop- 
erties, and  your  country,  that  you  immediately  and  vigor- 
ously exert  all  your  influence,  power  and  abilities,  in  encour- 
aging and  forwarding  the  enlistments  within  your  respective 
spheres  of  influence  and  connections,  that  the  same  may  be 
completed  and  sent  forward  with  all  possible  expedition." 

What  a  contrast  between  our  peaceful  ^Sabbaths,  and  those 
days  when  all  the  might  of  Britain  was  raised  to  crush  our 
fathers  in  the  act  of  asserting  their  constitutional  liberty,  and 
when  the  note  of  alarm  calling  the  people  to  struggle  against 
fearful  odds  for  all  their  dearest  interests,  was  sounded  from 
the  pulpit.  Must  not  the  prayers  that  went  up  to  God  in 
those  times  from  the  public  assembly,  have  groaned  with  the 
burthen  of  the  country's  peril  ?  On  the  back  of  this  circular, 
I  find,  in  the  hand  writing  of  Mr.  Whittelsey,  a  prayer,  ob- 
viously prompted  by  the  occasion,  and  obviously  designed  to 
be  incorporated  with  the  public  prayers  of  the  day.  It  is  in 
these  words : — 

"  O  thou  Most  High !  as  thou  wast  pleased  to  speak  by  thy 
prophet  to  Rehoboam  and  the  people  of  Judah  and  Benjamin, 
so  be  pleased  in  thy  providence  to  speak  to  the  king  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  Ye  shall  not  go  up  nor  fight  against  your 
brethren,  but  return  every  man  to  his  house.  And  thus, 
without  the  farther  effusion  of  blood,  O  God  most  high  and 
gracious !  may  tranquillity  be  restored  to  the  nation  and  to 
these  American  States.  As  thou  didst  then  influence  the 
minds  of  the  men  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  to  refrain  from  the 
destruction  of  their  brethren,  so,  O  God !  in  whose  hands  are 
the  hearts  of  all  men,  thou  canst  easily  influence  the  minds 
of  those  who  are  invading  our  land,  and  threatening  to  lay 
us  waste.  Would  to  God  that  they  might  be  influenced  to 
desist  from  their  cruel  and  destructive  designs." 


256 

The  public  worship  of  this  Church,  it  is  believed,  was  not 
interrupted  during  the  war.  Other  Churches  were  broken  up  j 
the  congregations  scattered ;  the  ministers  sometimes  mur- 
dered, or  compelled  to  flee  ;  the  houses  of  worship  sometimes 
burned,  and  sometimes  turned  into  barracks  or  stables  by 
the  enemy.  Through  the  whole  war,  the  hostile  forces, 
knowing  how  much  of  the  spirit  of  independence  in  the 
country  was  to  be  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  our  reli- 
gious institutions,  seemed  to  bear  a  particular  malice  against 
both  meeting-houses  and  ministers  of  all  denominations  but 
one ;  and  that  one  sustained  such  relations  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  parent  country,  that  the  peculiarity  of  its  po- 
sition is  easily  accounted  for.  In  this  place,  as  in  most 
other  places,  the  Episcopal  Church  was  closed  from  the  time 
when  it  became  unlawful  to  pray  fox  the  king  as  our  king, 
till  the  time  when  the  recognition  of  our  independence  made 
it  canonical  to  omit  praying  for  him.  Some  ministers  of 
that  denomination,  like  the  late  excellent  Bishop  White  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  was  one  of  the  chaplains  to  Congress, 
yielded  to  their  patriotic  sympathies,  and  felt  that  no  vow 
of  canonical  obedience  could  be  of  force  to  annihilate  their 
duty  to  their  country.  Others,  whose  conscientiousness 
ought  not  to  be  questioned,  while  their  hearts  were  on  the 
side  of  the  country,  were  perplexed  by  their  ecclesiastical 
subjection  to  the  Church  of  England ;  and  in  the  absence 
of  any  ecclesiastical  authority  in  this  country  which  they 
could  recognize,  they  dared  not  deviate  from  the  forms  and 
orders  of  the  English  liturgy.  Nor  are  those  to  be  judged 
harshly,  whose  sympathies  in  the  conflict  were  altogether 
with  the  parent  country.  England  was  as  their  home; 
thence  they  had  long  received  their  subsistence ;  thither  they 
had  long  been  accustomed  to  look  with  grateful  and  humble 
veneration ;  there  were  their  patrons  and  spiritual  superiors ; 
and  there  were  all  their  hopes  of  prevailing  against  the  dis- 
senters, and  of  building  up  in  this  western  world,  what  they 
esteemed  the  only  true  Church.  No  Church  has  gained  more 
than  theirs,  by  the  very  revolution  which  they  so  dreaded ; 


257 

for  that  revolution  gave  to  their  Church  ecclesiastical  inde- 
pendence, and  the  power  of  self-reformation. 

This  place  you  know  was  in  one  instance  visited  by  the 
enemy,  and  was  marked  for  conflagration.  But  by  the  bles- 
sing of  God  upon  the  vigorous  resistance  made  by  the  citi- 
zens, the  invaders  were  kept  at  bay  till  the  inhabitants  gen- 
erally had  escaped  with  the  most  valuable  part  of  their  mov- 
able property ;  and  till  the  enemy,  knowing  that  the  whole 
force  of  the  country  around  would  soon  be  down  upon  them, 
were  glad,  after  an  hour  of  hasty  plunder,  to  make  their  es- 
cape without  accomplishing  their  design.  Thus  New  Ha- 
ven was  saved  from  the  flames  which,  within  a  few  days  after- 
wards, destroyed  so  many  of  the  towns  upon  this  coast. 

In  one  instance,  at  least,  while  the  war  was  in  progress, 
the  several  Churches  so  far  forgot  their  dissentions  and  preju- 
dices, as  to  unite  spontaneously  in  the  appointment  of  a  day 
of  special  prayer  and  fasting.*  Our  fathers  believed  in  the 
efficacy  of  prayer.  They  believed  that  contending  in  a 
righteous  cause,  and  committing  that  cause  to  God,  their  pros- 
pect of  success  even  in  the  darkest  times,  was  fairer  than 
that  of  their  enemies.  But  neither  prayer  nor  fasting  hin- 
dered them  from  the  most  strenuous  effort.  On  the  contrary, 

*  From  Stiles's  Lit.  Diary,  Aug.  12th,  1779.  "  Tuesday,  last  week,  the 
ministers  of  the  township  of  New  Haven,  met  voluntarily,  and  agreed  to 
propose  to  their  Churches  a  voluntary  Fast,  on  account  of  the  distressing 
calamities  and  peculiar  danger  of  the  seaports ;  proposing  Thursday,  12th 
inst.  as  the  day.  This  was  laid  before  the  Churches  and  congregations  last 
Lord's  day,  and  approved.  This  day  the  nine  Churches  in  the  several  pa- 
rishes in  this  town  observed,  as  a  day  of  solemn  fasting,  prayer,  and  humilia- 
tion. It  was  observed  here  with  great  decency  and  apparent  solemnity,  the 
militia  attending  divine  service.  I  went  to  Mr.  Edwards's  meeting  in  the 
forenoon.  Mr.  Whittelsey's  and  Mr.  Mather's  Churches  agreed  to  meet 
together  in  Mr.  Whittelsey's  meeting  house,  which  they  did  ;  as  Mr.  Mather 
is  in  ill  health  it  relieved  him  of  one  exercise.  I  attended  Mr.  Whittelsey's, 
P.  M.,  when  he  preached  upon  Isaiah  xlviii;  9 — 11.  The  presence  of  God 
seemed  to  be  with  us  all  the  day.  Blessed  be  God  that  he  has  put  it  into 
the  hearts  of  his  people  to  seek  to  him  in  the  hour  of  distress,  especially  now 
that  we  are  threatened  with  the  return  of  the  enemy  to  lay  New  Haven,  &c. 
in  ashes.  May  God  prepare  us  for  his  holy  and  sovereign  will.  I  have  great 
hope  in  God,  that  through  his  undeserved  protection  we  shall  be  spared." 

33 


258 

the  same  confidence  in  God  which  bowed  their  knees  in 
prayer,  made  their  arms  strong  in  battle.* 

At  length  peace  came ;  and  the  land  so  long  exhausted, 
began  to  revive.  Then  how  did  the  temples  of  God  ring 
with  rejoicing !  What  joy  was  that  when,  after  seven  long 
years  of  desperate  war,  the  great  point  in  that  bloody  debate 
was  carried ;  and  Britain  and  the  world  acknowledged  the 
independent  sovereignty  of  the  United  States.  Then  began 
a  new  era  in  the  history  of  our  Churches.  Then  no  longer 
in  conflict,  no  longer  in  fear,  the  successors  of  the  Puritan 
fathers,  were  to  try  anew,  in  new  circumstances,  and  upon 
the  widest  field  of  action,  the  efficacy  of  their  principles. 

Mr.  Whittelsey  survived  the  termination  of  the  war  only 
about  four  years.  He  died  on  the  24th  of  July,  1787,  in  the 
seventieth  year  of  his  age,  and  in  -the  thirtieth  year  of  his 
ministry.  His  grave,  like  those  of  his  predecessors,  is  cov- 
ered by  this  sanctuary. 

In  the  sermon  preached  at  his  funeral  by  President  Stiles, 
and  in  that  preached  on  the  following  Sabbath  by  Dr.  Dana, 
we  have  a  full  delineation  of  his  character. 

" In  this  candlestick,"  says  Dr.  Stiles,  "he  has  shone  as 
a  burning  and  shining  light  for  about  thirty  years.  He  de- 
voted himself  to  the  work,  and  applied  to  the  theological 
studies,  and  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office,  with  an  ardor, 
zeal  and  assiduity  equalled  by  few  and  exceeded  by  none. 
You  are  witnesses,  and  God  also,  how  he  has  behaved  him- 
self among  you,  how  he  has  warned  every  one  with  tears, 
how  he  has  preached  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  and 
pressed  and  exhorted  your  reception  of  him  with  apostolic 
zeal  and  fervor.  With  a  lively  and  animated  ministry  has 


*  Hutchinson,  having  mentioned  in  his  history  (I,  230)  one  of  those  days 
of  fasting  which  were  so  frequent  in  the  early  age  of  Massachusetts,  apolo- 
gizes in  a  note  by  saying,  "  Their  dependence  on  these  days  was  not  such 
as  caused  them  to  neglect  any  other  means  in  their  power  for  promoting  the 
public  weal."  The  soldier  who  conforms  to  the  first  part  of  Cromwell's 
motto,  will  not  be  likely  to  neglect  the  second,  "  Put  your  trust  in  God,  and 
keep  your  powder  dry." 


259 

he  appeared  for  a  series  of  years  in  this  desk,  and  displayed 
the  redemption  of  the  cross,  and  as  an  ambassador  of  the 
prince  of  peace,  persuaded  you  to  be  reconciled  unto  God. 
And  this  his  zeal  burned  to  the  last,  and  shone  with  flaming 
brightness  in  the  sermons,  with  which  he  closed  his  ministry 
among  you,  so  lately  as  but  the  Sabbath  before  the  last. 

"  His  elocution  was  loud  and  sonorous,  it  was  curt  and  pa- 
thetic, it  was  pungent  and  striking  ;  and  yet  I  know  it  would 
not  stand  the  criticism  of  Athenian  rhetoric.  There  was  a 
certain  life  and  vigor,  a  certain  engagedness  in  his  manner, 
which  impressed  the  auditory  with  a  conviction,  that  he  was 
in  earnest  in  his  Lord's  work,  that  he  was  solemnly  in  ear- 
nest upon  the  most  momentous  concerns,  upon  which  he 
spake  with  a  seraph's  zeal  and  with  all  the  fervor  of  a  burn- 
ing oratory.  He  was  a  Boanerges,  a  son  of  thunder,  a  Bar- 
nabas, a  son  of  consolation. 

"  His  favorite  subjects  were  the  glories  and  excellences  of 
Christ,  the  majesty  of  God,  the  atonement  and  righteouness 
of  the  Redeemer  as  the  sole  foundation  of  pardon,  the  grace 
of  the  gospel,  the  necessity  of  a  life  of  holiness  and  moral 
virtue,  and  the  glories  of  the  heavenly  world.  But  while  he 
was  a  bold  and  open  advocate  for  moral  virtue,  yet  often 
have  we  heard  him  preach  from  this  desk,  that  in  point  of 
justification  there  was  no  righteousness  which  could  procure 
our  acceptance  with  a  holy  God,  but  that  of  the  MEDIATOR. 

"  In  his  life  and  general  conversation,  he  was  virtuous  and 
benevolent.  He  had  a  singular  talent  at  accommodating 
himself  with  ease  to  all  characters,  high  and  low,  rich  and 
poor.  He  had  always  something  entertaining,  instructive 
and  edifying,  something  that  made  religion  pleasant  and 
agreeable.  He  was  exceeding  careful  to  avoid  vilifying  oth- 
ers, even  his  enemies ;  but  was  disposed  to  think  and  say 
good  and  kind  things  of  all,  and  to  live  in  love  and  benevo- 
lence with  all,  though  they  differed  from  himself  in  some 
material  things.  He  went  about  doing  good,  and  carried  the 
savor  of  a  cheerful,  heavenly  life  in  his  conversation,  speak- 
ing familiarly  of  the  things  of  religion,  heaven,  immortality. 


260 

and  the  blessed  society  and  beatific  glories  of  the  upper 
world.  For  many  years  he  has  expressed  a  most  confiden- 
tial hope,  and  I  think  I  may  say,  an  assurance  of  a  happy 
eternity,  which  continued  with  him  to  the  last.  He  always 
founded  his  hope  on  the  grace  of  God  and  the  merit  of  the 
Redeemer,  and  an  inward  consciousness  that  it  would  be  his 
chief,  his  supreme  joy  to  spend  an  eternity  in  the  bosom  of 
Jesus,  and  among  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect ;  and 
this  he  hoped  had  been  wrought  in  him  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
and  the  power  of  his  grace. 

"  But  the  time  fails  me  to  enlarge  further  on  these  or  other 
traits  of  his  character, — on  his  love  of  LIBERTY,  civil  and  reli- 
gious,— on  his  patriotism, — on  his  Catholicism  and  charity 
to  his  fellow  Christians ;  not  only  towards  those  who  agreed 
with  him  in  sentiment,  but  towards  those  who  widely,  very 
widely  differed  from  him ;  and  on  his  being  a  friend  to  order 
and  good  government  in  Church  and  State. 

"  But  while  I  say  these  great  and  good  things  of  our  de- 
ceased friend,  far  be  it  from  me  to  be  an  advocate  for  the  per- 
fection of  any  human  character.  He  had  his  imperfections. 
Yet  when  we  consider  how  incident  it  is  to  characters  of  his 
magnitude,  as  well  as  others,  in  the  course  of  a  long  life  to 
make  some  capital  mistake  in  conduct,  or  stumble  upon  some 
capital  if  not  essential  error  or  singularity  in  religion,  it  is 
rather  to  be  admired  that  Mr.  Whittelsey  should  have  by 
Providence  been  carried  through  life  so  securely  from  both 
these.  It  must  be  a  satisfaction  upon  scrutinizing  a  charac- 
ter, while  we  find  many  excellent  things  in  it,  to  find  only 
the  common  infirmities  of  human  nature,  to  be  covered  with 
the  mantle  of  charity,  and  the  white  robes  of  the  Redeemer's 
righteousness." 

The  more  polished  and  studied  eulogium  pronounced  by 
Dr.  Dana,  while  it  coincides  with  the  testimony  of  President 
Stiles,  has  one  or  two  touches  which  indicate  the  character 
of  the  author  quite  as  much  as  of  the  subject.  Yet  all  is  ex- 
pressed with  so  much  caution  and  truth,  as  well  as  beauty, 
that  to  attempt  any  correction  would  be  to  mar  the  picture. 


261 

"  The  foundation  of  Mr.  Whittelsey's  eminence  in  life  was 
laid  in  superior  natural  endowments  and  an  early  thirst  for 
knowledge.  Suavity  of  temper  and  dignity  of  manners, 
with  an  early  and  decided  choice  of  religion,  commanded 
respect.  From  youth  to  old  age  he  had  a  reputation  which 
is  better  than  gold. 

"  During  his  residence  at  the  university  as  an  instructor, 
and  his  after  employment  in  merchandise  and  civil  life,  he 
acquired  an  accurate  and  extensive  knowledge  of  men  and 
things,  and  a  large  acquaintance  with  principal  characters  at 
home  and  abroad.  These  were  desirable  accessions  to  his 
special  accomplishments  for  the  ministry.  Preferring  the 
employment  in  which  he  might  best  promote  the  immortal 
and  most  important  interests  of  mankind,  he  relinquished 
worldly  prospects  which  would  have  allured  most  minds. 

"He  was  distinguished  as  a  gentleman,  scholar,  Christian 
and  divine.  He  united  the  greatest  affability  with  true  dig- 
nity. Philanthropy,  integrity  and  firmness  strongly  marked 
his  character.  He  scattered  the  wicked  with  his  eye.  Pos- 
sessing in  a  high  degree  the  friendly  and  social  affections,  his 
conversation  was  always  savory,  enlivening  and  improving. 
His  hospitality  to  his  numerous  friends  was  supported  by  econ- 
omy and  discretion  in  all  his  temporal  affairs,  and  a  rare  ac- 
tivity and  promptitude  in  every  business  he  undertook.  He 
discerned  the  proper  time  and  opportunity  for  every  purpose, 
the  modes  and  seasons  of  address,  and  knew  well  how  to 
redeem  time. 

"  Numbers  of  first  distinction  in  Church  and  State,  having 
been  his  pupils,  their  known  reverence  and  love  of  one  who 
had  imbued  their  minds  with  science  and  virtue,  is  his  high- 
est encomium. 

"  Thoroughly  read  in  history,  particularly  ecclesiastical, 
he  saw  the  errors  and  corruptions  which  have  crept  into  the 
Church  through  a  zeal  for  dictating  in  matters  of  faith,  and 
was  himself  j>erfectly  satisfied  with  the  protestant  confession. 
He  was  no  disputatious  theologist,  but  a  practical  rather  than 
a  controversial  preacher.  Persuaded  of  the  truth  of  Christian- 


262 

ity,  and  deeply  sensible  of  its  importance,  he  was  well  able 
to  defend  it.  In  this  cause  he  set  his  face  as  a  flint.  He  la- 
mented the  decline  of  professors  and  prevalence  of  infidelity. 
Never  ashamed  of  the  gospel,  he  magnified  his  office  by  incul- 
cating the  doctrines  of  grace  in  connection  with,  and  as  mo- 
tives to,  evangelical  holiness  ;  by  exhibiting  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, not  human  systems,  as  the  rule  of  faith  ;  by  ruling  well 
the  Church  of  God ;  and  being  an  ensample  to  the  flock. 

"He  was  attached  to  the  Congregational  discipline.  At 
the  same  time,  being  a  consistent  protestant,  he  asserted  the 
equal  rights  of  all  denominations,  and  was  open  to  the  full 
influence  of  that  charity  which  'seeketh  not  her  own,  think- 
eth  no  evil,  hopeth  all  things.' 

"  In  preaching,  his  aim  was  to  enlighten  the  mind  and  im- 
prove the  heart.  Perspicuity  and  forcible  reasoning,  energy 
of  language  and  manner,  elevation  of  thought,  and  original- 
ity of  composition  distinguished  his  discourses  from  the  pul- 
pit. Feeling  the  truth,  dignity  and  importance  of  his  sub- 
ject, in  composing  his  sermons,  he  seemed  to  have  caught 
the  fervor  of  St.  Paul  in  delivering  them. 

"  This  evangelical  minister  revered  the  character  of  Em- 
manuel, and  preached  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified  as  the 
only  foundation  of  acceptance  with  God.  He  was  indeed  a 
workman  who  needed  not  to  be  ashamed.  With  the  activ- 
ity, zeal  and  perseverance,  he  united  the  humility  and  pru- 
dence, the  meekness  and  gentleness  of  Paul.  With  him  he 
attended  continually  on  his  ministry,  '  teaching  publicly  and 
from  house  to  house,  warning  every  one  night  and  day,  and 
teaching  with  all  wisdom,  that  he  might  present  every  man 
perfect  in  Christ.' 

"  He  possessed  the  gift  and  spirit  of  prayer  above  most  of 
his  brethren.  Grace  was  poured  into  his  lips  in  public  and 
private,  on  all  occasions.  How  have  we  been  edified  and 
warmed  with  the  variety,  copiousness  and  pertinency  of  his 
prayers !  Such  was  the  elevation  of  his  heart  in  devotion, 
that  he  seemed  to  be  caught  up  to  heaven. 


"  Diligent  to  know  the  state  of  his  flock,  and  naturally  car- 
ing for  it,  his  pastoral  visits  were  frequent,  and  judiciously 
conducted.  He  '  opened  his  mouth  with  wisdom.'  His  heart 
was  open  to  the  tenderest  sensibility,  and  in  all  your  afflic- 
tions he  was  afflicted.  He  presided  over  his  flock  with  fidel- 
ity and  impartiality,  with  gravity  and  dignity  ;  and  made 
himself  servant  unto  all,  that  he  might  gain  the  more. 

"  His  religion  was  equally  free  from  affected  austerity,  and 
from  levity  of  temper,  from  bigotry  and  indifference.  He 
could  address  you,  as  Paul  the  Corinthians,  '  Not  that  we 
have  dominion  over  your  faith,  but  are  helpers  of  your  joy. 
Be  ye  followers  of  me,  even  as  I  also  am  of  Christ.' 

"  Amidst  the  intricacies  of  providence,  allotments  not  joy- 
ous but  grievous,  he  exhibited  a  serenity  of  temper  and  joy 
in  divine  government,  which  manifested  the  commanding 
influence  of  the  faith  that  overcomes  the  world.  He  had 
learned  to  glory  in  tribulation. 

"  The  course  of  the  ministry  which  he  fulfilled  with  you 
was  twenty  nine  years  and  upwards.  How  he  took  heed  to 
fulfil  it,  let  those  say  who  were  best  acquainted.  You,  my 
brethren,  knew  his  manner  of  life  from  his  youth  to  the  day 
of  his  departure — after  what  manner  he  conversed,  taught 
and  lived  ;  how  he  was  with  you  at  all  seasons,  serving  the 
Lord  with  all  humility,  affection,  and  fervency,  counseling, 
comforting,  persuading,  warning  and  admonishing,  as  a  father 
his  children — how  he  '  travailed  in  birth,  that  Christ  might 
be  formed  in  you.' 

"He  wished  not  to  exceed  seventy  years.  According  to 
his  desire,  his  usefulness  as  well  as  life  was  protracted  to  this 
period.  When  it  came,  he  closed  the  scene  with  the  same 
serenity  and  constancy  of  mind  as  he  had  ever  lived.  He 
was  ready  to  be  offered,  having  like  comfortable  reflections 
in  the  review  of  his  life  and  ministerial  warfare  as  the  holy 
apostle,  and  a  like  prospect  of  a  crown  of  righteousness.  His 
old  age  was  amiably  splendid  as  the  clearly  setting  sun.  His 
past  days  looked  back  upon  him  with  the  smile  of  friendship. 
And  the  morning  of  immortal  felicity  dawning  on  his  soul, 


264 

gloriously  irradiated  the  valley  of  death.  We  saw  the  aged 
saint  commend  his  soul  to  God,  full  of  faith,  looking  up  sted- 
fastly  into  heaven,  seeing  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus  on  his 
right  hand." 

Those  among  us  who  remember  this  venerable  man,  are 
only  a  few ;  but  I  have  never  heard  one  of  them,  or  of  the 
others  who,  since  I  have  been  here,  have  gone  to  the  dead, 
speak  of  him  but  with  a  sort  of  affectionate  veneration. 
When  he  died,  the  feeling  found  utterance  among  men  of  all 
parties  and  of  the  strongest  prejudices,  "  that  if  any  man  had 
ever  gone  to  heaven,  good  old  Mr.  Whittelsey  had  gone 
thither." 

I  introduced  his  religious  character  to  your  view,  by  exhib- 
iting a  leaf  from  the  journal  of  his  feelings  in  early  life.  We 
saw  him  struggling  with  perplexities,  uttering  the  desires  of 
a  wounded  spirit,  and  the  groans  of  a  broken  heart,  and 
hardly  daring  to  indulge  the  hope  which  yet  he  dared  not  re- 
press. Ere  we  take  our  leave  of  him,  I  am  permitted  to 
show  you,  from  another  of  his  private  papers,  what  were  the 
exercises  of  his  mind  when  his  religious  character  had  at- 
tained its  full  maturity.  The  paper  now  referred  to,  is  an 
occasional  memorandum,  dated  "April  8, 1767,  Fast  day." 

"  I  am  now  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  my  age.  Looking  back 
upon  my  life  past,  and  looking  into  myself,  I  have  great  rea- 
son, O  God !  to  be  deeply  humbled  in  thy  sight. 

"  The  advantages  I  have  enjoyed  have  been  very  great ; 
but  my  unfruitfulness  is  a  full  proof  that  they  have  been  but 
ill  improved. 

"  I  now  have,  and  for  many  years  have  had,  a  prevailing 
comfortable  hope,  through  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  that  my 
eternity  will  be  happy. 

"  I  cannot  indeed  but  be  astonished  at  this  grace  of  God, 
astonished  that  there  is  any  room  for  one  so  unworthy  as  I 
am,  to  hope.  I  truly  appear  to  myself  the  chief  of  sinners ; 
nor  is  it  easy  for  me  to  think  any  other  in  the  world  is  so  un- 
worthy as  I  am,  or  that  any  other  of  the  redeemed  will  be 
so  much  beholden  to  free  and  rich  grace  as  I  shall.  But  it  is 


265 

this  very  grace  which,  I  do  not  say  excites  me  to  resolve  I 
will  be,  but  constrains  me  to  be  the  servant  of  God  and  the 
Redeemer  without  reserve  and  forever.  And  yet  since  I  have 
known  this  grace  of  God,  how  inactive,  how  forgetful,  how 
worldly  minded,  how  sensual,  have  I  been.  Many  times 
that  I  can  call  to  mind,  the  world,  and  at  other  times  the 
flesh,  have  seemed  for  a  season  to  have  got  the  ascendant ; 
but  fresh  views  of  the  extent  and  the  exceeding  riches  of  the 
grace  of  God  in  Christ,  have  encouraged  me,  and  even  con- 
strained me  to  hope  afresh  ;  and  it  has  been  the  language  of 
my  heart,  in  opposition  to  every  lust  and  every  worldly  in- 
terest, '  I  am  the  Lord's.'  I  have  felt  myself  infinitely 
obliged  and  infinitely  indebted,  and  have  loved  to  feel  my- 
self under  these  bonds.  It  is  now  pleasant  to  live,  because 
I  live  upon  God,  and  I  see  God  in  all,  in  all  that  befalls  me, 
in  every  thing  that  surrounds  me.  Tt  is  pleasant  to  go  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  not  because  I  am  worthy,  but  because  there 
is  grace  sufficient  for  me  altogether  unworthy.  It  is  pleasant 
to  fight  in  the  Christian  warfare,  even  without  any  direct 
consideration  of  the  crown  which  will  be  given  to  him  that 
overcometh ;  it  is  pleasant  from  the  consideration  of  the 
leader  and  captain  under  whom,  and  the  cause  in  which  I 
am  engaged, — a  leader  whose  directions  are  infallible,  and 
whose  grace  is  all-sufficient, — and  a  cause  in  which  all  the 
excellent  ones  of  the  earth  have  been,  and  to  the  end  will  be, 
unitedly  engaged. 

"  Thus  for  days,  it  may  be  weeks,  I  go  on,  vigilant,  cheer- 
ful, and  I  may  even  say  happy.  But  in  a  little  while,  alas  ! 
I  seem  to  lose  a  sense  of  the  grace  of  God,  a  sense  of  my 
Redeemer,  and  of  my  obligations.  But  then,  again,  fresh 
views  of  the  extent  of  the  exceeding  riches  of  the  grace  of 
God  in  Christ,  captivate,  encourage  and  engage  me  afresh. 

(:  O  thou  God  of  all  grace  !  may  these  views  be  more  and 
more  lively,  permanent  and  steady.  I  am  never  so  happy  as 
when  every  thought  and  imagination  is  brought  into  subjec- 
tion to  the  obedience  of  Christ.  Then,  the  more  firmly  I 
can  trust  in  the  mercy  and  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  the 
34 


266 

more  entirely  do  I  feel  myself  devoted  to  God,  and  the  more 
resolved  and  ready  to  do  every  thing  that  God  requires  of 
me." 

Such  were  the  devotional  exercises  of  this  good  man, 
twenty  years  before  his  death.  I  may  add  here,  that  his 
friend  Dr.  Stiles  was  with  him  in  his  last  moments.  They 
had  often  conversed  together  about  death  and  heaven  ;  and 
Mr.  Whittelsey  had  for  a  long  time  expressed  habitually  a 
full  assurance  of  hope,  a  confidence  that  knew  no  fear  of  dy- 
ing. Dr.  Stiles  was  desirous  to  see  the  triumph  of  that  con- 
fidence, in  the  hour  of  dissolution.  He  came  into  the  room 
just  as  death  was  beginning.  Taking  his  friend  by  the  hand, 
he  said,  "  Do  you  feel  now  the  full  assurance  of  hope  ?  If 
you  would  say  yes,  and  cannot  speak,  answer  me  by  the 
pressure  of  your  hand.  Do  you  feel  now  the  full  assurance 
of  hope  ?"  The  aged  saint  rallied  his  dying  strength,  and 
with  a  struggle  answered  distinctly,  "  Yes."  His  wife,  chil- 
dren, and  grandchildren,  kneeled  around  the  bed, — a  few 
words  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  were  uttered,  and  .the 
mortal  had  put  on  immortality.* 


*  Mr.  Whittelsey 'a  published  works  were  several  occasional  Sermons,  the 
titles  of  which  are  subjoined  : 

A  Sermon  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Abigail  Noyes,  1768. 

A  Sermon,  preached  at  the  ordination  of  Rev.  John  Hubbard,  in  Meri- 
den,  1769. 

A  Sermon  at  the  funeral  of  Mrs.  Mary  Clap,  relict  of  President  Clap, 
1769. 

Election  Sermon,  1778. 

Beside  these,  I  have  seen  somewhere  a  printed  Sermon  of  his,  delivered 
about  the  year  1745,  to  a  graduating  class,  of  which  he  had  been  the  prin- 
cipal instructor. 


DISCOURSE   XIII. 

JAMES    DANA    AT    WALLINGFORD    AND     NEW    HAVEN. THE    PAST 

AND    THE    PRESENT. 

ECCLESIASTES,  vu,  10. — Say  not  thou,  What  is  the  cause  that  the  former 
days  were  better  than  these  ?  for  thou  dost  not  inquire  wisely  concerning  this. 

As  we  approach  the  close  of  this  history,  and  begin  to 
touch  upon  the  doings  and  reminiscences  of  the  living,  our 
views  must  be  more  cursory,  and  we  must  advance  with  in- 
creasing rapidity. 

After  the  death  of  the  venerable  Whittelsey,  the  pulpit  was 
supplied  for  a  season,  according  to  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  the  ecclesiastical  usages  in  New  England,  by  the  neigh- 
boring pastors — each  of  the  thirteen  ministers  who  were  pres- 
ent at  the  funeral,  volunteering  to  give  one  Sabbath's  service 
for  the  benefit  of  the  widow  of  their  deceased  brother  and 
father.*  Immediately  afterwards,  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Dana, 
of  Wallingford,  being  at  that  time  free  from  the  labor  of 
preaching  in  his  own  Church,  was  called  in  to  supply  the  va- 
cant pulpit  statedly.  In  January,  1 789,  the  Church  and  So- 
ciety, with  great  unanimity,  elected  him  their  pastor ;  and  on 
the  29th  of  April,  he  was  inducted  into  the  pastoral  office. 
Dr.  Dana  preached  the  sermon  at  his  own  installation,  which 
I  believe  is  the  latest  instance  of  that  ancient  usage  in  New 
England.-  Thus,  in  less  than  two  years  after  the  Church's 
bereavement,  another  pastor  was  harmoniously  settled. 

Dr.  Dana,  at  the  time  of  his  removal  to  this  Church,  was 
more  than  fifty  years  old.  He  was  born  at  Cambridge  in 
Massachusetts,  about  the  year  1735,  was  educated  at  Harvard 
College,  where  he  graduated  in  1753,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
after  which  he  appears  still  to  have  resided  at  Cambridge  for 
some  time.  In  the  year  1758,  the  Church  in  Wallingford, 
having  been  without  a  pastor  ever  since  the  death  of  Rev. 

*  Stiles,  Lit.  Diary. 


268 

Samuel  Whittelsey  in  1752,  and  having  been  somewhat  divi- 
ded into  parties  in  consequence  of  hearing  various  candidates, 
was  advised  by  some  of  the  neighboring  ministers  to  send  to 
Cambridge  for  a  new  candidate.  Accordingly  a  messenger 
was  sent  with  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Appleton  of  Cambridge, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Chauncey  of  Boston,  and  the  President  of  Har- 
vard College,  asking  them  to  nominate,  and  send  to  Walling- 
ford,  some  suitable  and  worthy  candidate  for  the  ministry  in 
that  place.  Dr.  Chauncey  happening  to  be  absent,  the  selec- 
tion of  a  candidate  devolved  on  Pres.  Holyoke  and  Dr.  Ap- 
pleton ;  and  at  their  nomination,  Mr.  Dana  was  requested  to 
come  to  Wallingford  for  settlement. 

This  arrangement  proved  less  happy  for  the  Church  and 
Society  in  Wallingford  than  was  expected ;  for  though  both 
the  Church  and  the  Society,  with  apparent  harmony,  united 
after  a  few  weeks  in  giving  Mr.  Dana  a  call,  the  voting  of  the 
call  was  immediately  followed  by  the  organization  of  a  strong 
opposition,  promoted,  as  was  supposed,  by  some  of  the  min- 
isters of  the  neighborhood.  A  council,  selected  according  to 
the  undisputed  usage  of  those  days,  was  invited  to  meet  for 
the  ordination.  The  opponents  of  Mr.  Dana,  on  their  part, 
determined  to  prevent  his  ordination,  by  bringing  a  complaint 
before  the  consociation  of  the  county.  The  consociation  was 
accordingly  summoned  to  meet  for  the  purpose  of  attending 
to  a  complaint  against  the  regularity  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  Church  and  Society,  and  against  the  orthodoxy  of  the 
candidate.  Whether  it  was  by  accident  or  design,  is  not 
known ;  but  so  it  was,  that  the  two  councils,  the  one  called 
by  the  Church  and  Society  to  ordain  Mr.  Dana,  the  other 
called  by  the  minority  to  prevent  his  ordination,  met  in  Wal- 
lingford on  the  same  day, — and  a  memorable  day  it  was  in 
the  ecclesiastical  history  of  Connecticut.  The  story  is  too 
long  to  be  repeated  here  in  detail.  The  various  pamphlets 
that  were  published  respecting  the  "  Wallingford  Contro- 
versy" in  the  day  of  it,  are  a  volume.*  Dr.  Trumbull  has 

*  A  Faithful  Narrative,  &c.  By  Jonathan  Todd,  A.  M.,  a  member  of  the 
ordaining  council. — A  few  Remarks  upon  the  ordination,  &c.  By  William 


269 

related  the  particulars  with  great  honesty  of  purpose,  but  not 
without  some  bias  from  his  personal  and  party  prejudices. 
Let  it  suffice  to  say  here,  that  the  Church  and  Society,  and 
Mr.  Dana,  being  cited  to  appear  before  the  consociation,  ap- 
peared and  denied  with  strong  arguments  the  jurisdiction  of 
that  council  over  any  Church  in  such  a  case  as  that ; — that 
the  ordaining  council,  though  expressly  and  solemnly  forbid- 
den by  the  consociation,  went  forward  and  ordained  the  candi- 
date ; — that  the  consociation,  finding  themselves  thus  baffled, 
and  perceiving  that  the  affair  was  becoming  very  complicated, 
determined  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  neighboring  consociation 
of  the  southern  district  of  Hartford  county,  and  adjourned 
accordingly  for  three  weeks; — that  when  at  the  appointed 
time  the  two  consociations  assembled  in  a  joint  meeting,  Mr. 
Dana  and  the  Church  and  Society  still  refused  to  acknowl- 
edge the  jurisdiction  of  that  body,  as  the  case  was  then  situ- 
ated ; — and  that  the  two  consociations,  after  trying  the  case 
as  well  as  they  could  when  the  parties  to  be  tried  refused  to 
plead  on  any  point  but  that  of  jurisdiction,  declared  the  rela- 
tion between  Mr.  Dana  and  the  Church  and  Society  to  be  dis- 
solved ; — and  finally,  that  after  waiting  several  months  to  see 
the  effect  of  their  doings,  they  pronounced  a  sentence  of  non- 
communion  against  Mr.  Dana  and  the  Church,  acknowledged 
the  minority  to  be  the  consociated  Church  in  the  First  Soci- 
ety in  Wallingford,  and  denounced  the  ministers  and  dele- 
gates of  the  ordaining  council  "  as  disorderly  persons,  and 
not  fit  to  sit  in  any  of  our  ecclesiastical  councils,  until  they 


Hart,  A.  M.,  Pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Saybrook. — Some  Serious  Remarks 
upon  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jonathan  Todd's  Faithful  Narrative,  &c.  By  Edward 
Eells,  A.  M.,  Pastor  of  the  Second  Church  in  Middletown.— The  Principles 
of  Congregational  Churches,  &c.  By  Noah  Hobart,  A.  M.,  Pastor  of  the 
First  Church  in  Fairfield. — A  Letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Noah  Hobart.  By  R. 
Wolcott. — Remarks  on  a  pamphlet  wrote  by  Mr.  Hobart,  &c.  By  William 
Hart. — A  Vindication,  &c.  By  Noah  Hobart. — A  Reply,  &c.  By  Jona- 
than Todd  :  Together  with  an  Answer,  &c.  By  William  Hart.— Some  Re- 
marks upon  the  claims  and  doings  of  the  Consociation,  &c.  By  Andrew 
Bartholomew,  A.  M.,  Pastor  of  the  Church  in  Harwinton.— The  Walling- 
ford Case  Stated,  &c. 


270 

shall  clear  up  their  conduct  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  council 
of  New  Haven  county." 

What  added  to  the  violence  of  these  proceedings,  was,  that 
the  controversy  was  at  bottom  a  conflict  between  the  old  light 
and  new  light  parties,  not  only  in  Wallingford  and  in  New 
Haven  county,  but  throughout  the  colony.  Mr.  Dana  was  of 
that  party  which  had  opposed  the  revival  of  religion  ;  his  set- 
tlement in  so  large  and  important  a  Church,  would  be  a  tri- 
umph of  that  party,  which  had  already  become  a  minority  in 
the  county  and  in  the  colony  ;  and  therefore  the  new  light 
men  were  determined  by  all  means  to  prevent  the  ordination, 
and  when  the  thing  was  done,  to  undo  it  if  possible.  The 
old  light  party  had  previously  attempted  to  use  the  peculiar 
constitution  of  the  Connecticut  Churches  as  an  engine  of  op- 
pression. They  had  carried  matters  with  a  high  hand  while 
they  had  the  power,  interfering  arbitrarily  with  the  rights  of 
pastors  and  of  Churches ;  and  now  they  found  the  very  en- 
ginery which  had  been  so  convenient  to  them,  turned  against 
them.  So  true  is  it  that  they  who  take  the  sword  shall  per- 
ish by  the  sword,  and  that  the  violent  shall  find  their  vio- 
lent dealing  coming  down  upon  their  own  heads.  So  true  is 
it,  too,  that  when  parties  run  high,  no  party  can  be  trusted  to 
guard  any  body's  liberty  or  interests  but  their  own.  What- 
ever party  happens  to  wield  power,  will  make  the  most  of  it, 
if  necessary  to  their  party  ends,  though  by  contradicting  all 
the  professions  and  complaints  of  their  weaker  days. 

Mr.  Dana  and  the  ministers  by  whom  he  was  ordained,  be- 
ing thus  excluded  from  all  ecclesiastical  and  ministerial  in- 
tercourse with  the  other  pastors  of  the  county,  formed  an 
association  by  themselves,  which  was  upheld  till  the  year 
1772,  or  later,  when  a  sort  of  amnesty  was  proposed  by  the 
ministers  who  had  formerly  denounced  them,  parties, — and 
persons  too, — having  changed  in  the  mean  time.* 

From  that  great  Wallingford  controversy  and  a  few  sim- 
ilar conflicts,  one  result  has  arisen  of  no  small  importance  to 

*  Stiles,  Lit.  Diary. 


271 

the  Churches.  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  show,  that 
the  Saybrook  Articles  of  Discipline,  commonly  called  the 
Saybrook  Platform,  were  originally  a  compromise  between 
two  parties,  the  one  inclined  to  a  high  Presbyterian  form  of 
government,  the  other  holding  strongly  the  great  Congrega- 
tional principle,  of  the  competency  and  inalienable  liberty  of 
each  particular  Church  to  manage  its  own  affairs.  Hence 
that  instrument  has  always  been  subject  to  two  diverse  in- 
terpretations. The  one,  which  may  be  called  the  Presbyte- 
rian construction,  gives  to  the  consociation  of  the  district  a 
general  and  complete  superintendency  over  the  Churches, 
condemns  all  other  councils  as  irregular,  and  claims  for  the 
decisions  of  the  consociation,  in  cases  of  appeal,  a  juridical 
authority,  so  that  they  are  to  take  effect  not  by  the  consent 
or  acquiescence  of  the  Church  appealed  from,  but  by  their 
own  intrinsic  power.  The  other,  which  we  may  call  the 
Congregational  construction,  maintains,  that  the  Congrega- 
tional principle  of  the  liberty  of  every  particular  Church  is 
unimpaired  by  the  Platform,  and  that  the  consociation  is 
nothing  else  than  a  council  of  Congregational  Churches,  con- 
vened and  organized  by  a  particular  rule.  In  1740,  and  for 
a  few  years  after,  when  the  "  old  lights"  were  the  majority, 
and  were  oppressing  Mr.  Robbins  of  Branford,  and  Mr.  Al- 
len of  West  Haven,  they  were  of  course  great  sticklers  for 
the  consociation,  and  for  the  Presbyterian  construction  of  its 
powers ;  and  then  it  was  that  the  "  new  light"  party  in  New 
Haven  were  so  deeply  aggrieved,  because  Mr.  Noyes  and  the 
Church  had  declared  this  Church  to  be  under  the  Saybrook 
Platform,  that  Messrs.  Cook,  Bellamy,  and  other  new  light 
ministers,  for  that  one  reason,  proceeded  to  organize  them 
into  a  separate  and  independent  Church, — a  Church  in  which 
the  original  prejudice  against  consociations  is  alive  and  vig- 
orous at  this  day.  In  1759,  when  by  the  change  of  parties 
the  "  new  lights"  were  no  longer  a  minority,  they  in  their 
turn  had  become  strict  upholders  of  the  Presbyterian  con- 
struction of  the  Platform  ;  and  then  it  was  that  Mr.  Noyes 
and  Mr.  Whittelsey,  the  colleague  pastors  of  this  Church, 


272 

were  by  a  vote  of  the  consociation  condemned  "  as  disorderly 
persons  and  not  fit  to  sit  in  any  of  our  ecclesiastical  coun- 
cils," so  that  this  Church  has  been  for  eighty  years  as  effect- 
ually alienated  from  consociations  as  the  other.  Thus  the 
Presbyterian  construction  of  the  constitution  having  been 
tried  on  all  sides  both  actively  and  passively,  has  in  the  pro- 
gress of  time  been  pretty  generally  abandoned  ;  consociations 
have  learned  that  if  they  are  to  do  any  good,  nay,  if  they  are 
to  have  any  being,  it  must  be  as  Congregational  councils, 
and  not  as  Presbyteries.  The  spirit  of  Congregationalism, 
such  as  Congregationalism  was  when  Thomas  Hooker  and 
John  Davenport  and  the  synod  at  Cambridge  were  its  ex- 
pounders, prevails  throughout  the  Churches  of  Connecticut, 
and  with  perhaps  a  few  exceptions,  throughout  the  ministry. 
Mr.  Dana  being  introduced  to  the  pastoral  office  in  such 
circumstances,  was  of  course  a  man  of  suspected  orthodoxy. 
Probably  his  theological  views  when  he  began  to  preach, 
were  those  which  in  that  day  were  becoming  prevalent  in 
the  region  about  Boston, — views  which  there,  in  the  course 
of  one  or  two  generations,  beginning  with  opposition  to  the 
extravagances  and  enthusiasm  of  the  revival,  and  growing 
into  opposition  to  what  was  called  bigotry  and  superstition, 
ripened  into  Unitarianism.  It  is  commonly  reported  how- 
ever, that  as  he  advanced  in  the  ministry,  his  opinions  on 
the  great  points  of  Christian  doctrine  became  more  sound, 
and  his  feelings  more  evangelical.  However  this  may  be, 
it  is  certain  that  as  the  ministers  and  Churches  of  Connecti- 
cut began  to  be  better  acquainted  with  him,  and  to  recover 
from  the  fright  occasioned  by  the  extraordinary  manner  in 
which  he  was  settled,  they  were  constrained  to  recognize 
him  as  a  man  of  great  talents  and  learning,  of  great  judg- 
ment and  prudence  in  the  management  of  affairs,  of  great 
fearlessness  and  conscientiousness  in  performing  what  he 
conceived  to  be  his  duty,  and  of  eminent  public  usefulness. 
And  when  the  "old  light"  and  "new  light"  parties  were 
superseded  by  parties  "founded  on  the  differences  between  the 
"  old  divinity"  and  the  new,  Dr.  Dana,  who  at  an  early  age 


273 

was  honored  by  a  theological  doctorate  from  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh,  became  a  strong  defender  of  the  "old  di- 
vinity" against  the  opinions,  of  which  Dr.  Bellamy,  Dr.  Hop- 
kins, Dr.  West  of  Stockbridge,  and  Dr.  Edwards,  were  the 
fathers  and  supporters.  Some  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  "  new 
divinity"  which  Dr.  Dana  opposed,  were  the  denial  of  the  im- 
putation of  Adam's  sin  to  his  posterity, — the  assertion  of 
man's  natural  ability  to  love  God  and  keep  his  command- 
ments,— the  denial  of  the  tendency  or  fitness  of  the  means 
of  regeneration  to  accomplish  their  end, — the  hypothesis 
that  sin,  in  all  instances  in  which  it  occurs,  is  on  the  whole 
better  for  the  universe  than  holiness  would  be  in  its  place, 
and  is  therefore  not  merely  permitted  by  the  Father  of  lights, 
but  preferred  to  holiness  in  its  stead,  and  introduced  by  his 
positive  efficiency, — and  the  dogma,  generated  by  some 
strange  speculations  about  disinterested  benevolence,  that  a 
willingness  to  be  damned  for  the  glory  of  God  is  an  essential 
condition  of  salvation.  The  new  light  men  and  their  suc- 
cessors, much  as  they  venerated  President  Edwards,  much 
as  they  honored  Bellamy  and  some  of  the  others  as  Edwards's 
favored  disciples,  did  not  all  become  new  divinity  men. 
Some  of  them,  at  least,  astounded  at  the  stupendous  dogmas 
of  Hopkins  and  West,  were  willing  to  acknowledge  Dana  as 
orthodox  in  comparison  with  these  inventors  of  new  divin- 
ity, and  to  forget  the  heresy  and  schism  of  his  youth,  for  the 
sake  of  the  strength  with  which  he  could  lead  them  to  war 
against  such  metaphysical  giants  as  those  of  Bethlehem,  and 
Stockbridge,  and  Newport. 

Another  cause  which  operated  to  overcome  the  public  pre- 
judice against  him,  was  his  early  and  decided  position  in 
favor  of  our  national  independence.  There  was  a  time, 
while  the  revolution  was  approaching,  when  public  senti- 
ment in  Connecticut  had  by  no  means  become  unanimous 
as  to  the  expediency  of  attempting  to  stand  against  the  Brit- 
ish government,  or  of  taking  any  measures  which  might 
sever  the  tie  between  the  colonies  and  the  parent  empire. 
The  eastern  part  of  the  State  was  somewhat  in  advance  of 
35 


274 

the  western,,  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  "  new  lights,"  as  a 
body,  were  a  little  before  the  old  light  or  conservative  party 
as  a  body.  So  slow  was  Governor  Fitch  in  coming  up  to 
the  grand  movement  of  the  day.  and  consenting  to  the  adop- 
tion of  strong  measures,  that  during  the  agitations  conse- 
quent upon  the  stamp  act,  he  lost  the  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple and  lost  his  office.  It  was  not  far  from  this  time  that  Dr. 
Dana,  then  a  young  man,  was  invited  to  preach  in  Mr.  Whit- 
telsey's  pulpit  on  one  occasion  while  the  legislature  was  in 
session  in  this  place.  Many,  particularly  of  the  eastern  mem- 
bers, would  have  refused  to  hear  so  suspected  a  preacher,  if 
they  had  not  understood  that  he  was  strongly  on  their  side 
in  politics.  Their  curiosity,  and  their  confidence  in  his  po- 
litical orthodoxy,  overcame  their  dislike  of  his  ecclesiastical 
irregularity.  His  audience  therefore  included  all  the  lead- 
ing political  men  of  the  colony.  Expecting,  or  at  least 
hoping  for  such  an  audience,  he  had  prepared  himself  for 
the  occasion.  His  text  was,  Heb.  xi,  24,  25.  "  By  faith, 
Moses  when  he  was  come  to  years,  refused  to  be  called  the 
son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  choosing  rather  to  suffer  affliction 
with  the  people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for 
a  season."  And  though  to  men  not  in  the  habit  of  looking 
for  a  double  sense,  the  sermon  might  have  seemed  far  enough 
from  having  any  political  bearing,  there  were  few  in  that 
audience  who  did  not  see  the  meaning.  As  the  preacher 
illustrated  and  vindicated  the  conduct  of  Moses  "  when  he 
had  come  to  years,"  it  became  very  plain  that  Connecticut, 
having  come  to  years,  was  old  enough  to  act  for  herself,  and 
trusting  in  the  God  of  Israel,  to  refuse  to  be  any  longer  de- 
pendent upon  Pharaoh.  As  he  held  up  for  imitation  the  faith 
of  the  great  Hebrew  lawgiver,  whom  all  the  blandishments 
of  royalty  could  not  pervert,  whom  the  wrath  of  the  king 
could  not  deter,  and  who  renounced  the  court  and  identified 
himself  with  the  cause  of  the  wronged  and  oppressed  people, 
there  was  no  hearer  who  did  not  see  for  himself,  in  the  con- 
trast, the  picture  of  those  timid  politicians  of  the  times,  who 
were  likely  to  become  the  tools  of  the  court.  No  man  was 


275 

ever  more  than  he  a  master  of  that  sort  of  eloquence,  in 
which  "more  is  meant  than  meets  the  ear."  The  prejudices 
of  his  auditors  were  vanquished.  From  that  time  forward, 
whenever  the  General  Assembly  held  its  session  at  New  Ha- 
ven, it  was  expected  of  course  that  Mr.  Whittelsey  would  grat- 
ify the  members  by  exchanging  once  with  his  brother  Dana.* 

At  Dr.  Dana's  installation  here,  the  council  consisted  of 
twelve  ministers  and  twelve  delegates.  Among  the  minis- 
ters, were  Dr.  Edwards  and  Mr.  Austin,  of  the  two  younger 
Churches  in  this  town ;  and  these,  I  believe,  were  the  only 
ministers  in  the  council  who  would  be  considered  decided 
"  new  divinity"  men.  The  council  met  at  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  The  preliminary  questions  having  been  at- 
tended to,  Dr.  Dana,  instead  of  being  examined  as  examina- 
tions are  usually  conducted  on  such  occasions,  read  to  the 
council,  a  written  statement  of  his  religious  opinions,  con- 
cise, cautious,  but  clear  and  comprehensive,  with  some  pun- 
gent allusions  to  the  "  new  divinity"  of  the  times.  After  the 
reading  of  this  document,  Dr.  Edwards,  as  the  champion  of 
a  newer  and  more  thorough  orthodoxy,  undertook  to  exam- 
ine him  by  asking  him  questions.  The  questioning  being 
finished  on  Dr.  Edwards's  part,  Dr.  Dana  retaliated,  by  pro- 
posing a  series  of  questions  for  the  examiner  to  answer.  Both 
had  prepared  themselves  beforehand  j  and  both  appear  to 
have  brought  their  questions  in  writing  to  the  place  of  meet- 
ing, Dr.  Dana  doubtless  anticipating  some  such  collision. 
Dr.  Edwards,  as  appeared  afterwards,  did  not  obtain  satisfac- 
tion. Whether  Dr.  Dana  was  satisfied,  we  are  not  informed.f 

For  some  years  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Whittelsey,  there 
had  been  so  much  of  peace  among  the  Churches  in  New  Ha- 
ven, that  the  monthly  sacramental  lectures  were  united,  and 
were  preached  at  the  three  houses  of  worship  in  rotation. 
But  immediately  after  Dr.  Dana's  installation,  the  ministers 
of  the  other  two  Churches  refused  to  hold  so  much  com- 

*  This  incident  is  related  on  the  authority  of  the  late  Judge  Chauncey, 
one  of  the  hearers  of  the  sermon, 
t  Appendix,  No.  XIII. 


276 

mumon  with  him,  being  advised  to  that  course  by  their 
friends  West,  Smalley,  and  others,  on  Dr.  Edwards's  repre- 
sentation that  Dr.  Dana,  besides  being  opposed  to  the  "  new 
divinity,"  was  unsound  respecting  the  Trinity,  the  doctrine 
of  election,  and  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment.  "  Yet,2' 
says  Dr.  Stiles,  in  recording  this  fact,  "  all  the  rest  of  the 
council  were  satisfied  that  the  Dr.  was  sound  as  to  all  these 
points."  In  relation  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  his  con- 
fession of  faith  at  his  installation,  though  cautious  in  its  state- 
ments, holds  forth  distinctly  the  doctrine  recognized  as  ortho- 
dox. Respecting  a  future  state  of  punishment,  his  printed 
sermons  are  explicit  in  denying  the  possibility  of  any  salva- 
tion or  repentance  hereafter  to  those  who  die  in  their  sins.* 
I  think,  however,  notwithstanding  Dr.  Stiles's  testimony,  that 
his  doctrine  of  election  was  nothing  more  than  that  which  is 
commonly  known  as  the  Arminian  doctrine  on  that  subject. 

The  ministry  of  Dr.  Dana  in  this  Church  was  for  the  most 
part  peaceful  and  quiet ;  but  none  who  remember  that  the 
great  end  of  the  ministry  is  to  "  win  souls,"  and  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  to  bring  men  under  the  full  power  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  can  call  it  successful.  The  average  annual  addi- 
tion to  the  number  of  communicants  during  his  ministry  of 
sixteen  years  and  a  half,  was  only  between  five  and  six — 
ninety  three  in  all.  Two  services  on  the  Lord's  day,  the 
monthly  sacramental  lecture,  the  occasional  catechising  of 
the  children,  and  the  annual  public  fast  and  thanksgiving, 
were  all  the  religious  meetings  known  in  the  congregation  ; 
and  very  little  more  was  known,  I  believe,  in  any  other  con- 
gregation here.  So  far  as  I  can  judge  by  tradition  or  by 
reading  Dr.  Dana's  sermons,  the  hearer  under  his  preaching 
did  not  often  feel  that  he  was  hearing  that  upon  the  immedi- 
ate acceptance  of  which  his  soul's  salvation  was  depending. 
The  preacher,  though  he  deemed  it  a  point  of  orthodoxy  to 
believe  in  the  tendency  of  means  to  the  spiritual  renovation 
of  men,  did  not  believe  in  that  constitutional  ability  of  men 

*  See  his  sermon  on  that  subject,  in  Sermons  to  Young  People,  381. 


277 

to  repent  upon  the  hearing  of  the  word,  which  brings  the 
sinner  under  an  immediate  responsibility.  The  tendency  of 
his  preaching  was  not  so  much  to  lead  men  to  immediate  re- 
pentance toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
as  it  was  to  put  them  upon  using  the  means  of  grace,  in  the 
expectation  that  salvation  would  somehow  be  the  result.  Un- 
der such  a  ministry,  whether  it  be  called  "old  light,"  "  old 
divinity,"  or  "  old  school,"  or  by  any  other  name  of  ortho- 
doxy, vital  religion,  the  turning  of  men  from  their  sins  to 
God,  cannot  be  expected  greatly  to  prosper. 

Yet  it  deserves  to  be  noticed,  that  the  period  of  Dr.  Dana's 
ministry  in  this  Church,  especially  the  former  part  of  it,  was 
the  period  immediately  following  the  revolutionary  war, 
when  the  disastrous  and  demoralizing  influences  of  that  long 
conflict  were  felt  most  powerfully  in  all  the  Churches  ;  and 
when  the  country  in  the  joy  of  its  new  liberty,  and  in  its 
sympathy  with  the  hopes  and  horrors  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion, was  continually  blazing  with  intense  excitement — the 
period  in  which  the  long  darkness  that  ensued  upon  the  ex- 
travagances of  1740,  was  just  the  deepest — the  period  in 
which  the  ministry  of  so  gifted  and  evangelical  a  divine  as 
the  younger  Edwards,  came  to  an  end  in  this  very  town 
for  the  want  of  success* — the  period  just  before  the  com- 

*  The  history  of  Dr.  Edwards's  ministry  cannot  be  given  here.  The  first 
century  in  the  history  of  the  Church  to  which  he  ministered  will  soon  be 
completed ;  and  then  I  trust  his  successor  will  do  him  ample  justice.  He 
was  dismissed  from  the  charge  of  the  White  Haven  Church  and  Society,  at 
the  request  of  the  Society,  and  by  his  own  consent,  May  19,  1795.  The 
grand  reason  offered  for  his  dismission  was,  that  the  Society — which  at  his 
ordination,  twenty  six  years  before,  was  far  the  largest  and  wealthiest  in 
New  Haven — had  so  strangely  diminished  that  there  was  no  alternative  but 
that  of  dismissing  the  minister  or  dissolving  the  Society.  All  parties,  how- 
ever, the  Church,  the  parish,  and  the  council,  united  in  the  most  ample  tes- 
timonials to  his  faithfulness  and  his  abilities.  Dr.  Edwards  was  afterwards 
pastor  of  the  Church  in  Colebrook,  whence  he  was  called  to  the  presidency 
of  Union  College.  He  died  at  *Schenectady,  Aug.  1801,  aged  56. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Austin  was  ordained  over  the  Fair  Haven  Church  Nov. 
1786.  He  was  dismissed  Jan.  1790,  was  afterwards  pastor  of  the  First  Church 
in  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  then  President  of  the  University  of  Vermont.  He 
retired  from  that  station  in  1821,  and  died  at  Glastenbury,  Dec.  1830,  aged  70. 


278 

mencement  of  those  great,  successive,  spreading  religious 
awakenings,  which  characterize  the  last  forty  years  of  our 
ecclesiastical  history.  The  fact,  that  during  such  a  period, 
the  ministry  of  Dr.  Dana  was  not  eminently  successful,  is  not 
at  all  wonderful.  Let  us  thank  God,  not  that  we  are  better 
than  the  men  of  those  days,  but  that  we  live  in  better  times. 

The  year  1795  is  marked  by  the  appearance  of  a  new 
light  in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  New  Haven,  and  not  of 
New  Haven  or  Connecticut  only,  but  of  America.  In  that 
year,  President  Dwight,  one  of  the  most  eloquent,  accom- 
plished and  successful  of  preachers,  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  evangelical  of  theologians,  came  to  the  presidency  of 
Yale  College.  From  that  time,  the  Churches  here  began  to 
be  conversant  with  preaching  of  a  higher  order,  not  so  much 
in  respect  to  style  and  manner,  as  in-  respect  to  weight  and 
clearness  of  thought,  and  cogency  of  application,  than  any 
they  had  for  a  long  time  before  been  accustomed  to  hear. 
From  that  time,  too,  there  began  to  come  forth  young 
preachers,  formed  not  only  by  his  example  as  a  model,  but 
by  his  moulding  power  as  an  instructor,  whose  labors  in 
their  various  spheres,  are -his  greatest  and  most  enduring  me- 
morial. 

Dr.  Dana,  by  his  discretion,  and  his  dignified  propriety  of 
conduct ;  by  his  diligence  and  courage  in  visiting  the  sick, 
especially  in  times  of  pestilence,  when  some  other  ministers 
retreated  from  the  danger ;  by  the  venerable  beauty  of  all 
his  public  performances,  particularly  his  prayers ;  and  by  his 
unquestionable  reputation  for  learning  and  wisdom ;  con- 
tinued to  hold  the  affections  of  the  people  much  longer  than 
most  men  could  have  done  in  similar  circumstances.  Those 
times  were,  not  less  than  the  present,  times  of  change. 
White  wigs,  and  cocked  hats,  and  the  staid  formal  manners 
of  the  days  before  the  revolution,  were  fast  losing  all  their 
venerableness.  The  love  of  novelty,  always  strong  in  human 
nature,  was  stimulated  by  the  great  changes,  political,  com- 
mercial and  moral,  consequent  upon  the  revolution  which 
had  made  us  an  independent  nation,  and  upon  the  adoption 


279 

of  the  Federal  Constitution,  which,  by  compacting  the  union 
of  the  States,  had  not  only  secured  their  growth  and  pros- 
perity, but  had  subjected  them  to  the  most  powerful  mutual 
influences.  In  this  town,  there  were  some  peculiar  local 
causes  which  operated  to  awaken  the  desire  of  change.  The 
two  societies  of  White  Haven  and  Fair  Haven,  having  dis- 
missed their  pastors  through  acknowledged  inability  to  sus- 
tain them,  had  reunited  in  one  Society,  (Nov.  27,  1796,)  the 
largest  and  strongest  in  the  town,  and  in  these  respects  the 
most  likely  to  attract  new  comers.  This  United  Society  had 
settled  as  its  pastor,  the  Rev.  John  Gemmil,  from  Pennsylva- 
nia, whose  full-orbed  popularity  at  his  first  coming  here  soon 
began  to  wane,  and  who,  after  a  ministry  of  four  years,  was 
dismissed,  Nov.  22,  1802,  leaving  not  many  friends  behind 
him.  Amid  all  these  disturbing  influences,  and  notwith- 
standing the  growing  infirmities  of  age,  Dr.  Dana  appears  to 
have  lost  nothing  of  the  respect  of  his  own  people  or  of  the 
community. 

But  in  the  winter  of  1804-5,  he  was  confined  for  some 
time  by  illness ;  and  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Moses 
Stuart,  then  recently  licensed  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry. 
Hardly  any  two  things,  both  worthy  to  be  called  preach- 
ing, could  be  more  unlike  than  the  preaching  of  the  old  pas- 
tor, and  that  of  the  young  candidate.  Dr.  Dana,  partly  from 
the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed  at  his  first  settle- 
ment in  Wallingford,  when  all  ears  were  open  to  catch  any 
inadvertent  expression  which  might  be  construed  into  hetero- 
doxy, and- partly  from  the  natural  cautiousness  of  his  temper, 
had  acquired  the  habit  of  preaching  on  many  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  stirring  topics  of  Christian  doctrine,  with  some- 
thing of  that  diplomatic  vagueness,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  which 
leaves  little  impression  upon  the  feelings,  and  less  upon  the 
memory.  The  consequence  was,  especially  as  he  grew  old, 
that  to  the  majority  of  hearers,  and  particularly  to  the  young, 
his  sermons  were  wanting  in  impressiveness,  containing  no 
strong  points  strongly  urged  home  upon  the  moral  sensibili- 
ties, or  strongly  debated  with  the  intellectual  faculties.  Ac- 


280 

cordingly,  when  the  old  man  was  once  silent  for  a  season, 
and  a  young  man  of  strong  impetuous  eloquence  occupied 
his  pulpit,  the  people,  and  especially  the  younger  part  of  them, 
found  out  all  at  once  that  their  pastor,  then  three  score  and 
ten  years  old,  was  indeed  an  old  man.  Arrangements  were 
immediately  commenced  to  obtain  the  services  of  Mr.  Stuart 
as  colleague  with  Dr.  Dana.  This  effort  failed,  because  of  the 
reluctance  of  the  candidate,  to  be  connected  with  a  colleague 
who,  it  might  be  presumed,  did  not  regard  the  movement 
with  cordial  approbation.  On  the  30th  of  July,  1805,  the 
Society  by  vote  signified  their  will  "  that  Dr.  Dana  retire  from 
his  pastoral  labors."  This  vote  was  in  effect  the  dismission 
of  the  aged  pastor,  the  Society  having  reserved  to  itself,  at 
the  time  of  his  settlement,  the  power  qf  dispensing  with  his 
pastoral  services  whenever  it  should  seem  proper  to  do  so. 
The  relation  of  Dr.  Dana  to  the  Church  and  Society  was 
formally  dissolved  by  an  ecclesiastical  council,  in  December, 
1805 ;  and  then  the  way  being  clear,  the  Society  immedi- 
ately elected  Mr.  Stuart  to  be  their  pastor.  On  the  20th  of 
January,  1806,  the  Church  concurred  with  the  Society  in 
the  call.  The  ordination  of  Mr.  Stuart  took  place  on  the 
5th  of  March.  What  has  taken  place  since  that  date  may 
be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  history  of  our  times,  and 
will  therefore  be  passed  over  with  only  a  few  general  notices. 
The  ministry  of  Mr.  Stuart,  though  short,  was  signalized 
by  a  memorable  revival  of  religion,  which  marked  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  order  of  things  in  the  history  not  only  of  this 
Church,  but  also  of  that  in  the  United  Society.  The  ordina- 
tion of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Merwin,  in  the  other  Church,  took 
place  about  a  year  before  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Stuart  in 
this.  From  the  date  of  Mr.  Stuart's  settlement,  all  ancient 
differences  between  these  Churches  were  buried  in  obliv- 
ion. At  sacramental  lectures,  and  on  many  other  occasions, 
the  two  Churches  were  united  as  one.  Frequent  exchanges 
of  pulpits  on  the  part  of  the  two  pastors,  tended  to  increase 
the  mutual  affection  between  the  Churches,  and  the  sense  of 
a  common  interest.  Thus  the  seriousness,  and  the  awakened 


281 

attention  to  the  things  of  religion,  which  pervaded  one 
congregation,  was  felt  equally  in  the  other  ;  and  better  days 
were  enjoyed  in  New  Haven  than  had  ever  been  known 
here  before. 

On  the  ninth  of  January,  1810,  Mr.  Stuart,  after  having 
served  the  Church  as  pastor  a  little  less  than  four  years,  was 
dismissed  at  his  own  request,  the  Church  and  Society  reluc- 
tantly consenting.  Having  been  invited  to  the  professorship 
of  Sacred  Literature  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Ando- 
ver,  he  considered  himself  called  in  the  providence  of  God 
to  relinquish  the  pastoral  office,  and  to  be  employed  in  form- 
ing the  minds  and  hearts  of  others,  for  the  service  of  the  spi- 
ritual temple. 

For  two  years  after  the  removal  of  Professor  Stuart,  the 
Church  was  without  a  pastor.  On  the  8th  of  April,  1812, 
the  vacancy  was  filled  by  the  ordination  of  the  Rev.  Na- 
thaniel W.  Taylor.  In  this  ordination,  Dr.  Dana  officiated 
as  moderator  of  the  ordaining  council,  joined  in  the  laying 
on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery,  and  in  the  name  of  the 
council  gave  the  charge  to  the  candidate.  During  the  min- 
istry of  his  immediate  successor,  his  stern  and  wounded  feel- 
ings had  forbidden  him  to  unite  with  this  Church  in  public 
worship.  Still  more  had  he  felt  himself  forbidden  to  sit  un- 
der the  preaching  of  the  man,  for  whom  the  Society  had 
treated  him,  in  his  old  age,  with  what  he  esteemed  great 
disrespect.  He  had  therefore  withdrawn,  and  at  the  College 
chapel  had  attended  on  the  ministry  of  President  Dwight. 
The  effect  of  this  had  been  in  one  important  respect  happy. 
Formerly  he  had  entertained  strong  prejudices  against  the 
President,  looking  upon  him  as  tinctured  with  the  "new  di- 
vinity" not  only  of  his  grandfather,  the  first  Edwards,  but 
also  of  his  uncle  and  theological  teacher,  the  second.  But 
his  six  years'  attendance  on  the  preaching  of  the  President, 
and  especially  his  hearing  that  four  years'  course  of  sermons 
on  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  religion,  which,  since  it  was 
given  to  the  public,  has  been  read  by  so  many  thousands  of 
intelligent  men  in  all  evangelical  denominations  with  equal 
36 


282 

admiration  and  profit, — went  far  to  annihilate  his  prejudices, 
He  is  said  to  have  acknowledged,  not  only  that  he  thought 
much  better  of  Dr.  D wight  than  formerly,  but  also  that  the 
preaching  of  Dr.  Dwight  had  led  him  to  new  views  of  some 
important  subjects.  Accordingly  he  saw  with  gratification 
the  progress  of  measures  for  the  settlement  of  one  of  Dr. 
Dwight's  favorite  pupils  over  what  had  once  been  his  own 
beloved  flock.  Occasionally  he  came  to  the  old  meeting 
house,  to  join  in  the  worship  which  he  had  formerly  been 
accustomed  to  lead.  The  sight  of  his  venerable  form  in  the 
old  place  awakened  old  affections.  The  Society  expressed 
by  vote  their  pleasure  at  seeing  him,  and  their  desire  that  he 
would  attend  there  in  future.  The  gentleman  who  was  ap- 
pointed to  communicate  to  him  this  vote,  lately  gave  me 
some  account  of  the  interview.  "  Dr.  Dana,"  said  he,  pre- 
senting a  copy  of  the  vote,  "  I  have  a  communication  for  you 
from  the  Society."  "  Please  to  read  it,  Sir,"  said  the  old 
man  in  reply,  putting  the  paper  back  into  the  hands  of  the 
other,  and  straightening  himself  up  to  a  little  more  than  his 
usual  dignity.  The  vote  was  read  distinctly,  and  with  due 
emphasis.  "  Please  to  read  it  again,  Sir,"  said  the  doctor, 
still  sitting  in  stiff  and  antique  dignity,  with  his  thin  ghastly 
countenance  unmoved,  as  if  he  were  something  between  a 
ghost  and  a  monument.  Again  the  communication  was 
read,  with  earnest  desires  that  it  might  make  a  favorable  im- 
pression. "  It  is  well,"  said  the  old  man,  and  his  voice  quiv- 
ered and  broke  as  he  uttered  his  reply,  "  I  know  not  but  that  I 
may  say,  Lord  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace." 
On  the  first  Sabbath  after  Mr.  Taylor's  ordination,  Dr.  Dana, 
at  the  invitation  of  the  young  pastor,  took  his  seat  in  the 
pulpit;  and  there  he  was  seen  thenceforward  every  Sab- 
bath till  his  last  sickness.  He  died  in  August  of  that  year, 
(1812,)  at  the  age  of  77.*  The  sermon  at  his  funeral  was 

*  Dr.  Dana  was  one  of  the  Fellows  of  Yale  College  from  1799  till  his  death. 
The  following  is  believed  to  be  nearly  a  correct  catalogue  of  his  published 
works. 

Sermon  on  the  death  of  John  Hall,  Esq.  1763. 


283 
t 

preached  by  Dr.  Dwight.  His  remains  rest  in  the  new  bury- 
ing ground. 

1  During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Taylor,  which  continued 
eleven  years  and  a  half,  the  years  1815  and  1816,  and  the 
years  1820  and  1821,  were  signalized  by  large  accessions  to 
the  communion  of  the  Church. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  dismissed  in  December,  1822,  according  to 
the  advice  of  a  council,  called  for  the  purpose  of  giving  light 
to  the  Church  on  the  question,  whether  he  ought  to  accept 
the  professorship  of  Didactic  Theology,  then  recently  estab- 
lished in  Yale  College.  However  the  congregation  may 
have  been  a  loser  by  that  decision  which  removed  him  from 
the  immediate  oversight  of  their  spiritual  interests ;  and  how- 
ever he  in  that  more  conspicuous  station  has  been  exposed  to 
buffetings  which  in  the  pastoral  office  he  might  have  avoided, 
the  great  and  common  cause,  the  cause  of  Christian  truth  and 
of  the  world's  salvation,  has  been,  we  trust,  the  gainer. 

The  present  pastor  first  stood  in  this  pulpit  on  the  first 
Sabbath  in  October,  1824,  having  been  ordained  the  week 
before  to  the  work  of  an  evangelist.  He  was  installed  on 
the  9th  of  March,  1825,  and  is  now  in  the  fourteenth  year  of 


Two  Sermons  on  faith  and  inscrutable  Providence,  preached  at  Cam- 
bridge. 1767. 

A  Century  Discourse  in  Wallingford.  1770. 

Examination  of  Edwards  on  the  Will.  1770.     Published  anonymously. 

Examination,  &c.,  continued.    1773.     Published  with  his  name. 

Sermon  on  prayer.  1774. 

Christmas -sermon  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  Wallingford, 

Discourse  on  capital  punishments.   1790. 

Sermon  on  the  African  slave  trade.  1791. 

Sermon  at  the  installation  of  Rev.  Abiel  Holmes  at  Cambridge.    1792. 

Sermon  on  practical  Atheism.  1794. 

Sermon  at  the  ordination  of  Rev.  E.  Waterman  at  Windham.  1794. 

Sermon  preached  at  the  funeral  of  President  Stiles.  1795. 

Two  Discourses,  I.  On  the  new  year  :  II.  On  the  completion  of  the  18th 
century.  1801. 

Sermon  on  the  death  of  Ebenezer  Grant  Marsh.  1803. 

Sermon  on  the  character  of  scoffers,  preached  in  Hartford.  1805. 

Sermons  to  young  people.  1806. 

Three  sermons  in  the  American  Preacher. 


284 

his  official  relation  to  this  Church.  The  years  1828  and 
1831,  were  years  in  which  God  was  pleased  to  crown  a  most 
imperfect  ministry  with  blessed  success.  The  years  1832, 
1835,  and  1837,  though  less  distinguished  than  the  two  first 
mentioned,  are  also  to  be  remembered  with  gratitude. 

Having  made  this  acknowledgment  of  the  goodness  of 
God,  I  will  not  attempt  at  this  time  to  review  my  own  min- 
istry any  farther  than  to  say,  that  in  the  constant  kindness  of 
a  most  affectionate  people,  in  the  wisdom  and  frankness  with 
which  those  gifted  with  wisdom  have  ever  been  ready  to 
counsel  me,  in  the  forbearance  with  which  my  imperfections 
and  errors  have  been  treated,  and  in  the  stimulus  which  the 
presence  of  an  intelligent  community,  accustomed  to  judge 
by  the  highest  standards,  has  afforded,  I  have  had  great  oc- 
casion for  gratitude  to  the  Providence  that  has  cast  my  lot 
here,  and  for  humiliation,  that  amid  such  advantages  my  cor- 
respondent profiting  has  not  been  more  manifest  to  all  men. 

In  this  review  of  the  history  of  two  centuries,  I  have  con- 
tinually seen  the  illustration  of  one  lesson  which  I  desire 
never  to  forget,  and  which  I  hope  you  will  remember.  While 
I  have  felt  the  impulses  of  that  natural  enthusiasm  which 
admires  whatever  is  venerable  with  antiquity,  the  studies 
which  have  made  me  far  more  familiar  than  I  was  before, 
with  the  men,  the  opinions,  and  the  conflicts  of  former 
times,  have  been  quickening  in  me  the  conviction,  that 

THE    GOLDEN   AGE    IS    NOT    IN    THE    PAST    BUT    IN    THE    FUTURE. 

The  golden  age  of  heathenism  was  in  the  remotest  past. 
It  was  followed,  as  the  fabling  poets  taught,  by  the  age  of 
silver,  that  by  the  brazen  age,  and  that  by  this  last  age  of 
iron.  According  to  this  view  the  world  is,  and  ever  has  been, 
progressively  degenerating.  How  gloomy  such  a  faith,  how 
dispiriting  to  noble  enterprise,  how  powerful  in  its  tendency 
to  selfishness !  The  golden  age  of  Christianity  on  the  con- 
trary is  in  the  future,  when  "  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  established  in  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  and 
exalted  above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  towards  it 
and  be  saved,"  when  "the  nations  shall  learn  war  no  more," 


285 

when  "  the  wolf  shall  lie  down  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leop- 
ard shall  lie  down  with  the  kid,  and  the  calf  and  the  young 
lion  and  the  falling  together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead 
them."  Toward  that  consummation,  that  complete  and  uni- 
versal triumph  of  the  kingdom  which  is  righteousness,  and 
peace,  and  joy, — all  things  under  the  universal  providence  of 
God  are  tending.  To  those  cheering  pictures  of  a  renovated 
earth  filled  with  knowledge,  peace  and  love,  the  eye  of  faith 
and  of  active  or  suffering  virtue  is  ever  looking.  And  every 
act  of  virtue,  from  the  most  conspicuous  to  the  humblest, — 
every  aspiration  of  true  prayer,  adds  its  little  contribution  to 
bring  on  the  golden  age  to  come,  those  "  last  days,"  when 
"  the  light  of  the  moon  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and 
the  light  of  the  sun  shall  be  seven  fold,  as  the  light  of  seven 
days." 

Some  view  allied  to  the  heathenish  doctrine  of  a  golden 
age,  is  always  natural.  And  if  at  any  time  our  confidence 
in  the  immortal  energy  of  truth,  in  the  veracity  of  God's 
predictions,  or  in  the  all-controlling  providence  of  God,  grows 
weak,  it  is  easy  for  us  to  become  alarmed  at  the  progress  of 
change,  and  easy  to  pass  from  alarm  to  despondency.  This 
is  peculiarly  easy  with  minds  of  a  melancholic  temperament ; 
and  such  minds,  in  this  world  of  change,  need  to  be  armed 
with  a  double  measure  of  faith  in  him  who  permits  and 
bounds  all  changes  according  to  infinite  wisdom  and  love. 

The  world  is  always  full  of  a  certain  sort  of  "  conserva- 
tivism"  which  places  the  golden  age  not  indeed  so  far  back 
as  the  heathen  poets  placed  it,  but  just  far  enough  back  to 
make  it  a  constant  motive  to  despondency.  You  can  always 
find  men  who  seem  to  think  that  the  golden  age  was  some- 
where from  fifty  to  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  that  ever  since 
that  indefinite  point  in  the  past,  the  world,  and  the  Church 
too,  has  been  degenerating.  They  are  not  ordinarily  very 
well  read  in  history,  but  they  have  a  strong  impression,  that 
in  those  good  old  times  every  thing  was  very  nearly  as  it 
should  be.  That  was  the  age  of  orthodox  theology ;  that 
was  the  age  of  revivals  without  new  measures ;  that  was  the 


286 

age  of  tranquility  in  the  Churches ;  that  was  the  age  of  sound 
principles  in  politics  ;  that  was  the  age  of  good  morals.  But 
alas  for  us  !  we  are  fallen  upon  the  most  "  evil  days  and  evil 
times"  that  ever  mortals  lived  in.  This  class  of  "  conserva- 
tives" has  been  in  the  world  ever  since  the  deluge  ;  and  al- 
ways they  have  held  the  same  language,  like  the  hypochon- 
driac who  on  every  day  in  the  year  was  "  better  than  he  was 
yesterday  but  worse  than  he  was  the  day  before."  Against 
such  feelings,  so  discouraging  to  faith  and  to  benevolence — 
so  dishonorable  to  the  gospel  and  to  its  author,  the  careful 
and  minute  survey  of  past  ages  is  well  fitted  to  guard  us. 

The  truth  is,  that  of  all  the  ages  since  New  England  was 
planted,  we  live  in  the  best  age,  the  age  in  which  it  is  the 
greatest  privilege  to  live.  The  self-styled  conservatives  of 
this  age  are  scared  at  "  new  divinity.-"  So  was  Dr.  Dana  in 
his  day  scared  at  the  "  new  divinity"  of  Bellamy  and  Hop- 
kins. They  are  scared  and  scandalized  at  "  new  measures." 
So  was  Mr.  Noyes,  in  his  day,  scared  at  the  "  new  measures" 
of  Davenport  and  Tennent.  They  are  scared  at  women's 
preaching,  taking  it  for  an  omen  that  the  world  is  getting  old 
and  crazy,  as  if  there  had  been  in  other  ages  no  Mrs.  Hutch- 
inson,  no  Deborah  Wilson,  no  Mary  Fisher.  They  are  scared 
at  itinerant  agitators  who  broach  strange  and  disorganizing 
doctrines  respecting  Churches  and  ministers,  laws  and  magis- 
trates ;  as  if  some  doctrine  had  been  invented  more  radically 
destructive  than  were  the  doctrines,  or  had  been  published 
in  terms  more  abusive  than  were  the  manners,  of  George 
Fox  and  his  emissaries.  Undoubtedly  this  age  has  its  evils, 
its  perils,  its  downward  tendencies.  It  is  eminently  an  age 
of  progress,  and  therefore  of  excitement  and  change.  It  is 
an  age  in  which  the  great  art  of  printing  is  beginning  to 
manifest  its  energy  in  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  the 
excitement  of  bold  inquiry  :  and  therefore  it  is  an  age  when 
all  opinions  walk  abroad  in  quest  of  proselytes.  It  is  an  age 
of  liberty,  and  therefore  of  the  perils  incidental  to  liberty. 
It  is  an  age  of  peace  "and  enterprise,  and  therefore  of  pros- 
perity, and  of  all  the  perils  incidental  to  prosperity.  It  is  an 


287 

age  of  great  plans  and  high  endeavors  for  the  promotion  of 
human  happiness  ;  and  therefore  it  is  an  age  in  which  daring 
but  ill  balanced  minds  are  moved  to  attempt  impracticable 
things,  or  to  aim  at  practicable  ends  by  impracticable  meas- 
ures. If  we  could  exorcise  the  spirit  that  moves  men  to  do 
good  by  associated  effort  on  the  grandest  scale,  perhaps  we 
might  be  rid  of  some  few  ill  concerted  enterprises  that  im- 
portune us  for  cooperation.  If  we  had  war  instead  of  peace, 
and  robbery  instead  of  commerce,  we  should  soon  be  rid  of 
the  evils  attendant  on  national  prosperity  and  this  vast  accu- 
mulation of  the  outward  means  of  human  happiness.  If  our 
liberty  were  abolished,  our  free  schools,  our  equal  rights, 
our  elective  government,  we  should  be  rid  of  the  perils  of 
this  constant  political  agitation.  If  the  universal  circulation 
of  books  and  newspapers  were  taken  away,  and  the  waking 
up  of  mind  in  all  directions  were  quieted,  if  all  religious  wor- 
ship and  instruction  were  regulated  by  the  sovereign  and 
made  to  conform  to  one  standard,  if  intellectual  culture  and 
general  knowledge  could  be  confined  to  the  "  better  classes," 
and  they  would  be  content  to  take  every  thing  by  tradition ; 
we  might  have  a  very  tranquil  state  of  things, — all  calm  as 
the  sea  of  Sodom.  But  so  long  as  we  have  liberty,  civil, 
intellectual,  and  religious ;  so  long  as  we  have  enterprise  and 
prosperity ;  so  long  as  the  public  heart  is  warm  with  solici- 
tude for  human  happiness ;  so  long  we  must  make  up  our 
minds  to  encounter  something  of  error  and  extravagance ; 
and  our  duty  is  not  to  complain  or  despair,  but  to  be  thank- 
ful that  we  live  in  times  so  auspicious,  and  to  do  what  we 
can  in  patience  and  love,  to  guide  the  erring  and  check  the 
extravagant. 

When  the  car  rushes  with  swift  motion,  he  who  looks  only 
downward  upon  the  track,  to  catch  if  he  can  some  glimpses 
of  the  glowing  wheel,  or  to  watch  the  rocks  by  the  wayside, 
that  seem  whirling  from  their  places,  soon  grows  sick  and 
faint.  Look  up,  man !  Look  abroad !  The  earth  is  not  dis- 
solved, not  yet  dissolving.  Look  on  the  tranquil  heavens, 
and  the  blue  mountains.  Look  on  alHhat  fills  the  range  of 


288 

vision, — the  bright,  glad  river,  the  smooth  meadow,  the  vil- 
lage spire  with  the  clustering  homes  around  it,  and  yonder 
lonely,  quiet  farmhouse,  far  up  among  the  hills.  You  are 
safe  ;  all  is  safe  ;  and  the  power  that  carries  you  is  neither 
earthquake  nor  tempest,  but  a  pcfwer  than  which  the  gen- 
tlest palfrey  that  ever  bore  a  timid  maiden,  is  not  more  obe- 
dient to  the  will  that  guides  it. 

What  age  since  the  country  was  planted,  has  been  more 
favorable  to  happiness  or  to  virtue  than  the  present  ?  Would 
you  rather  have  lived  in  the  age  of  the  revolution  ?  If  in  this 
age  you  are  frightened,  in  that  age  you  would  have  died  with 
terror.  Would  you  rather  have  lived  in  the  age  of  the  old 
French  wars,  when  religious  enthusiasm  and  religious  con- 
tention ran  so  high,  that  ruin  seemed  impending  ?  How 
would  your  sensibilities  have  been  tortured  in  such  an  age ! 
Would  you  rather  have  lived  in  those  earlier  times,  when  the 
savage  still  built  his  wigwam  in  the  woody  valleys,  and  the 
wolf  prowled  on  our  hills  ?  Those  days,  so  Arcadian  to  your 
fancy,  were  days  of  darkness  and  tribulation.  The  "  temp- 
tations in  the  wilderness"  were  as  real  and  as  terrible  as  any 
which  your  virtue  is  called  to  encounter. 

The  scheme  of  Divine  Providence  is  one,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end,  and  is  ever  in  progressive  development. 
Every  succeeding  age  helps  to  unfold  the  mighty  plan. 
There  are  indeed  times  of  darkness ;  but  even  then  it  is  light 
to  faith,  and  lighter  to  the  eye  of  God ;  and  even  then  there 
is  progress,  though  to  sense  and  fear  all  motion  seems  retro- 
grade. To  despond  now,  is  not  cowardice  merely,  but 
atheism ;  for  now,  as  the  world  in  its  swift  progress  brings 
us  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  latter  day,  faith,  instructed  by 
the  signs  of  the  times,  and  looking  up  in  devotion,  sees  on 
the  blushing  sky  the  promise  of  the  morning. 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I. 
DAVENPORT'S  DISCOURSE  ABOUT  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT. 

"  A  DISCOURSE  about  civil  government  in  a  new  plantation  whose 
design  is  religion.  Written  many  years  since  by  that  Reverend  and 
worthy  minister  of  the  gospel,  John  Cotton,  B.  D.  And  now  pub- 
lished by  some  undertakers  of  a  new  plantation,  for  general  direc- 
tion and  information.  Cambridge,  printed  by  Samuel  Green  and 
Marmaduke  Johnson.  1673." 

This  is  the  title  of  a  tract  of  twenty  four  pages,  small  quarto,  in 
the  library  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Cotton  Mather 
in  his  Life  of  Davenport,  (Magn.  HI,  56,)  says  that  in  this  title  page, 
"  the  name  of  Mr.  Cotton  is  by  a  mistake  put  for  that  of  Mr.  Dav- 
enport." The  testimony  of  Mather  is  perhaps  sufficient  in  itself  to 
decide  the  authorship,  inasmuch  as  his  father,  who  was  the  son-in- 
law  of  Cotton,  and  particularly  acquainted  with  Davenport,  may  be 
presumed  to  have  authorized  the  statement.  The  internal  evidence 
however  seems  to  me  to  demonstrate  not  only  the  author  of  the 
"  Discourse,"  but  the  occasion  on  which  it  was  written. 

1.  The  tract  was  written  in  New  England.     "  We  in  this  new 
plantation."  p.  10.     "  These  very  Indians  that  worship  the  Devil, 
will  not  be  under  the  government  of  any  Sagamores  but  such  as  join 
with  them  in  observance  of  their  pawawes  and  idolatries."  p.  24. 

2.  It  was  written  probably  by  a  man  who  had  been  in  Holland, — 
certainly  by  one  familiarly  acquainted  with  that  country.     "  In  Hol- 
land, when  the  Arminian  party  had  many  Burgomasters  on  their 
side,  Grave  Maurice  came  into  divers  of  their  cities  with  troops  of 
soldiers,  by  order  from  the  States  General,  and  put  those  Arminian 
magistrates  out  of  office,  and  caused  them  to  choose  only  such  as 
were  of  the  Dutch  Churches.     And  in  Rotterdam  (and  I  think  it  is 
so  in  other  towns)  the  Vrentscap,  (who  are  all  of  them  of  the  Dutch 
Church  and  free  burgers,)  do  out  of  their  own  company  choose  the 
Burgomaster  and  other  magistrates  and  officers."  pp.  23,  24.     Cot- 
ton never  was  in  Holland.    Davenport  resided  in  that  country  about 

37 


290 

three  years,  and  his  "  Apologetical  Reply"  was  published  at  Rot- 
terdam. 

3.  It  was  written  before  the  reign  of  the  long  parliament.     "  In 
our  native  country,  none  are  entrusted  with  the  management  of  pub- 
lic affairs  but  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  they  call  them." 
p.  23.    There  is  a  peculiar  tone  in  this  language  which  no  New  Eng- 
land Puritan  would  have  used  while  the  parliament  was  reforming 
the  Church  of  England.     It  could  not  have  been  written  after  the 
restoration,  for  in  1673,  it  was  "  written  many  years  since." 

4.  It  was  written  not  for  publication,  but  in  the  way  of  private 
and  amicable  discussion  with  a  friend, — a  "Reverend"  friend, — 
with  whom  the  writer  had  opportunities  of  personal  conference.     It 
is  in  the  form  of  an  epistle,  commencing  thus : — "  Reverend  Sir, 
The  Sparrow  being  now  gone,  and  one  day's  respite  from  public  la- 
bors on  the  Lord's  day  falling  to  me  in  course,  I  have  sought  out 
your  writing,  and  have  reviewed  it,  and  find  (as  I  formerly  expressed 
to  yourself)  that  the  question  is  mis-stated  by  you."  p.  3.     So  at  the 
conclusion, — "  If  you  remain  unsatisfied,  I  shall  desire  that  you  will 
plainly,  and  lovingly,  and  impartially  weigh  the  ground  of  my  judg- 
ment, and  communicate  yours,  if  any  remain  against  it,  in  writing. 
For  though  much  writing  be  wearisome  unto  me,  yet  I  find  it  the 
safer  way  for  me."  p.  24. 

5.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  written  with  any  purpose  of 
vindicating  a  constitution  already  established,  but  rather  with  refer- 
ence to  a  question  of  practical  moment  not  then  decided.     The 
manifest  design  of  the  whole  composition  is  inquiry  and  discussion, 
rather  than  the  vindication  of  something  already  determined.    "  The 
true  state  of  the  question"  is  declared  thus : — "  Whether  a  new  plan- 
tation, where  all,  or  the  most  considerable  part  of  the  free  planters 
profess  their  purpose  and  desire  of  securing  to  themselves  and  to 
their  posterity  the  pure  and  peaceable  enjoyment  of  Christ's  ordi- 
nances,— whether,  I  say,  such  planters  are  bound,  in  laying  the 
foundations  of  Church  and  civil  State,  to  take  order  that  all  the  free 
burgesses  be  such  as  are  in  fellowship  of  the  Church  or  Churches 
which  are  or  may  be  gathered  according  to  Christ ;  and  that  those 
free  burgesses  have  the  only  power  of  choosing  from  among  them- 
selves civil  magistrates,  and  men  to  be  entrusted  with  transacting  all 
public  affairs  of  importance  according  to  the  rules  and  directions  of 
Scripture  ?"     The  writer  proceeds,  "  I  hold  the  affirmative  part  of 
this  question,  upon  this  ground,  that  this  course  will  most  conduce 


to  the  good  of  both  states ;  and  by  consequence  to  the  common  wel- 
fare of  all,  whereunto  all  men  are  bound  principally  to  attend  in  lay- 
ing the  foundations  of  a  commonwealth,  lest  posterity  rue  the  first 
miscarriages  when  it  will  be  too  late  to  redress  them,"  &.c.  "  The 
Lord  awaken  us  to  look  to  it  in  time,  and  send  us  his  light  and  truth 
to  lead  us  into  the  safest  way  tn  these  beginnings."  p.  14.  So  in 
another  place,  "  We  plead  for  this  order  to  be  set  in  civil  affairs,  that 
such  a  course  may  be  taken  as  may  best  secure  to  ourselves  and  our 
posterities  the  faithful  managing  of  civil  government  for  the  common 
welfare  of  all."  p.  12.  Now  the  principle  for  which  this  discourse 
contends,  was  settled  in  Massachusetts  before  Mr.  Cotton  came  to 
New  England,  and  I  believe  was  never  afterwards,  in  his  life-time, 
made  the  subject  of  such  questionings  as  would  lead  to  the  writing 
of  such  an  epistle. 

From  these  various  indications  it  seems  altogether  probable,  not 
only  that  this  tract  was  written,  as  Mather  affirms,  by  Davenport ; 
but  also  that  it  was  written  at  Quinnipiack  sometime  between  April 
15th,  1638,  and  June  4th,  1639,  while  the  constitution  of  New  Ha- 
ven was  not  yet  formed.  It  seems  probable  also,  that  the  letter  was 
addressed  to  Samuel  Eaton,  who  during  that  period  was  Davenport's 
assistant  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  who,  as  Mather  says,  dis- 
sented from  his  colleague  "  about  the  narrow  terms  and  forms  of 
civil  government"  adopted  in  this  colony.  Nor  will  it  be  thought 
fanciful  to  suppose  that  this  letter  was  one  of  "  the  former  passages 
between  them  two,"  of  which  Mr.  Davenport  gave  "  a  short  relation" 
at  the  meeting  in  Mr.  Newman's  barn  "  on  the  fourth  day  of  the 
fourth  month,  called  June,  1639,"  when  one  man  whose  name  is  not 
recorded,  objected  to  the  principle,  that  "  free  burgesses  should  be 
chosen  out  of  the  church  members." 

Another- inquiry  suggests  itself.  The  tract  was  written  when  the 
departure  of  "  the  Sparrow"  concurring  with  one  Sabbath's  respite 
from  preaching,  gave  the  author  time  for  such  a  study.  Are  there 
any  traces  elsewhere  of  "the  Sparrow?"  In  1622,  a  ship  of  that 
name  appears  in  the  history  of  Plymouth.  She  was  sent  over  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Weston  of  London,  and  having  been  employed  on  a  fishing 
voyage  at  the  east,  was  retained  at  Weston's  ill-starred  plantation 
of  Wessagussett.  (Davis's  Morton,  78.  Baylies'  Memoir  of  Plym- 
outh, 92,  95.)  That  the  same  Sparrow  was  afloat,  and  on  the  New 
England  coast  as  late  as  1638,  let  others  affirm  or  deny.  But  what 
had  the  author  of  this  tract  to  do  with  the  Sparrow  ?  If  it  be  sup- 


292 

posed  that  in  the  spring  or  summer  of  1633,  the  Sparrow  came  to 
Quinnipiack,  bringing  Mr.  Davenport's  books  and  household  goods, 
and  laden  with  similar  freight  for  the  planters,  it  may  easily  be  con- 
ceived, how  the  time  of  her  remaining  in  the  harbor  might  be  a  time 
when  the  friendly  debate  between  Mr.  Davenport  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Eaton,  must  needs  stand  still.  This  is  a  trifling  conjecture ;  but 
inest  sua  gratia  parvis. 

This  pamphlet  is  the  most  formal  exhibition  that  I  have  ever  seen, 
of  the  reasons  by  which  our  ancestors  themselves  vindicated  that 
principle  in  their  polity,  which  has  been  so  much  condemned  and 
ridiculed.  It  has  therefore  an  importance  as  a  historical  document, 
which  might  win  for  it  a  place  in  the  collections  of  the  Historical 
Society. 

The  last  of  the  six  arguments  by  which  the  author  maintains  the 
affirmative  of  his  question,  is  "  taken  from  the  danger  of  devolving 
this  power  upon  those  who  are  not  in  Church  order."  "  The  dan- 
gers to  the  Church  are  (1)  the  disturbance  of  the  Church's  peace, 
and  (2)  the  danger  of  corrupting  Church  order,  either  by  compelling 
them  to  receive  into  fellowship  unsuitable  ones,  or  by  imposing  on 
them  ordinances  of  men  and  worldly  rudiments,  or  by  establishing 
idolatrous  worship."  "  The  dangers  to  the  civil  State  are  (1)  the 
danger  of  factions, — there  will  naturally  be  a  party  opposed  to  the 
Churches,  and  (2)  the  danger  of  a  perversion  of  justice  by  magis- 
trates of  worldly  spirit."  With  men  who  had  had  a  taste  of  the  Star 
Chamber,  and  who  had  come  so  far  to  "  enjoy  Christ's  ordinances  in 
purity  and  peace,"  every  word  in  this  enumeration  of  dangers  had 
great  significancy. 


293 
No.  II. 

THE    PRIMITIVE    ORDINATIONS    IN   NEW  ENGLAND. 

THE  statement  on  page  41,  that  the  act  of  ordination  at  the  or- 
ganization of  a  Church  was  performed  by  two  or  more  brethren  in 
the  name  of  the  Church,  is  made  with  some  hesitation,  but  with  very 
little  doubt : — with  some  hesitation,  because  it  asserts  as  generally 
true,  what  is  commonly  considered  as  an  exception ;  yet  with  very 
little  doubt,  because  the  statement  corresponds  with  all  the  evidence 
which  I  have  been  able  to  discover.  Johnson  (Wonder  Working 
Prov.,  TT,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  vii,  40,)  undertakes  to  declare  how  "  all 
the  Churches  of  Christ  planted  in  N.  England"  "  proceeded  in  reli- 
gious matters,"  yet  he  describes  the  ordination  of  a  pastor  as  per- 
formed by  "  two  persons  in  the  name  of  the  Church,"  after  which, 
prayer  is  offered  by  "  one  of  the  elders  present."  Lechford's  testi- 
mony is  to  the  same  effect,  (p.  3.)  I  remember  no  instance  in  Win- 
throp,  of  an  ordination  performed  by  an  elder  called  in  from  a  neigh- 
boring Church.  The  Cambridge  Platform  (C.  ix,)  says,  "  In  such 
Churches  where  there  are  no  elders,  imposition  of  hands  may  be  per- 
formed by  some  of  the  brethren  orderly  chosen  by  the  Church  there- 
unto." The  language  evidently  implies  that  such  was  the  ordinary 
and  regular  course  in  the  case  described.  The  authors,  instead  of 
intimating  that  this  ordination  by  a  committee  is  doubtful  or  inexpe- 
dient, only  add,  that  "  where  there  are  no  elders  and  the  Church  so 
desire,  we  see  not  why  imposition  of  hands  may  not  be  performed  by 
the  elders  of  other  Churches."*  If  a  synod  should  now  say,  "  We 
see  not  why  imposition  of  hands  may  not  be  performed  by  brethren 


*  The  notions  of  Cambridge  Platform  respecting  ordination  were  not  at 
the  time  so  entirely  novel  as  some  imagine.  Archbishop  Cranmer  was  very 
much  of  the  same  way  of  thinking.  "  In  the  admission  of  many  of  these 
officers  [he  is  speaking  of  all  officers,  ecclesiastical  and  civil]  there  be  divers 
comely  ceremonies  and  solemnities  used,  which  be  not  of  necessity  but  only 
for  a  goodly  order  and  seemly  fashion.  For  if  such  offices  and  ministrations 
were  committed  without  such  solemnity,  they  were  nevertheless  truly  com- 
mitted." Stillingfleet's  Works,  Irenicum,  401.  So  again,  "  In  the  New  Tes- 
tament, he  that  is  appointed  to  be  a  bishop  or  a  priest,  needeth  no  consocra- 
tion  by  the  Scripture,  for  election  or  appointing  thereto  is  sufficient."  402. 


294 

in  the  name  of  the  Church,"  would  the  language  imply  that  imposi- 
tion of  hands  by  a  committee  is  the  ordinary  course  of  proceeding  ? 
It  is  matter  of  record  that  in  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Prudden  over  the 
Milford  Church,  (1640,)  the  imposition  of  hands  was  by  brethren, 
though  it  was  done  at  New  Haven,  and  therefore,  doubtless,  in  the 
presence  of  Mr.  Davenport.  So  again  in  the  ordination  of  Mr.  New- 
ton over  the  same  Church,  (1660,)  the  ruling  elder  was  assisted  by 
one  of  the  deacons  and  one  of  the  brethren.  So  again  in  the  ordi- 
nation of  John  Higginson  at  Salem,  in  the  same  year,  (Hutchinson, 
I,  425.)  Can  any  authentic  instance  be  found,  of  a  primitive 
New  England  ordination  performed  by  the  officers  of  neighboring 
Churches  ? 

Contrary  to  all  the  primitive  testimony,  we  have  the  declaration  of 
Cotton  Mather  (Mag.  V,  42,)  "  that  setting  aside  a  few  plebeian  ordi- 
nations in  the  beginning  of  the  world  here  among  us,  there  have 
been  rarely  any  ordinations  managed  in  our  Churches  but  by  the 
hands  of  presbyters."  This  shows  plainly  enough  that  the  custom  in 
his  day  was  the  same  as  in  ours,  and  the  context  shows  that  Mather 
was  anxious  to  obliterate  as  far  as  possible  the  memory  of  a  con- 
trary custom.  It  may  be  added,  that  the  only  time  when  such  ordi- 
nations were  expected  to  take  place,  was  at  what  Mather  calls  "  the 
beginning  of  the  world  here."  A  church  once  organized  was  ex- 
pected to  have,  and  for  the  first  half  century  did  ordinarily  have  a 
presbytery  within  itself,  by  whose  hands  subsequent  ordinations 
were  performed.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  that  the  ministers  thus 
ordained  by  committees  were  men  previously  ordained  by  bishops  in 
England,  and  that  their  re-ordination  here  was  similar  to  what  we 
now  call  installation ;  so  that  those  who,  like  Pres.  Stiles,  are  fond 
of  tracing  their  sacerdotal  pedigree  to  the  English  bishops,  and 
through  them  to  the  apostles,  may  easily  make  out  an  "  uninterrupted 
succession,"  notwithstanding  these  "  plebeian  ordinations."  See 
Stiles's  Election  Sermon,  59 — 64. 

It  may  seem  audacious  to  attempt  to  correct  the  editor  of  Win- 
throp ;  but  I  may  be  allowed  to  inquire  whether,  in  his  note  on  ordi- 
nation by  bishops,  he  has  not  mistaken  the  meaning  of  his  author. 
(Savage's  Winthrop,  1, 217.)  At  a  council  in  Concord,  April,  1637, 
"  it  was  resolved  by  the  ministers  then  present,  that  such  as  had 
been  ministers  in  England  were  lawful  ministers  by  the  call  of  the 
people  there,  notwithstanding  their  acceptance  of  the  call  of  the  bish- 
ops, (for  which  they  humbled  themselves,  acknowledging  it  their 


295 

sin,  &-c.,)  but  being  come  hither,  they  accounted  themselves  no  min- 
isters, until  they  were  called  to  another  Church."  Upon  this  the 
editor  remarks,  "Ordination  by  a  bishop  in  England  must  have  been 
thought  valid,  for  by  that  rite  it  was  that  all  the  other  ministers  as- 
serted their  claims  to  office,  as  we  may  see  at  the  election  in  August, 
1630,  of  Wilson  to  the  first  Church  of  Boston."  "  But  how  it  should 
be  a  sin,  yet  a  valid  entrance  or  admission  to  the  Christian  min- 
istry, can  be  explained  only  by  such  timid  casuists  as  humbled  them- 
selves for  their  act  in  submitting  to  it." 

With  all  deference  to  this  most  learned  and  honored  antiquarian, 
I  remark, 

1.  That  in  Gov.  Winthrop's  account  of  the  ordination  of  Wilson, 
not  a  word  is  said  about  his  having  derived  any  claims  from  ordina- 
tion by  a  bishop  in  England.     "  We  used  imposition  of  hands,  but 
with  this  protestation  by  all  that  it  was  only  as  a  sign  of  election  and 
confirmation,  not  of  any  intent  that  Mr.  Wilson  should  renounce  his 
ministry  he  received  in  England."     Winthrop,  I,  33. 

2.  That  the  lawfulness  of  the  ministry  of  such  as  had  been  minis- 
ters in  England  depended  on  the  implied  call  of  the  people  there,  and 
was  therefore  lawful,  "notwithstanding"  the  acceptance  of  prelatical 
ordination. 

3.  That  the  sin  which  they  so  humbly  acknowledged,  was  not  that 
ministry  received  and  exercised  in  England,  which  Mr.  Wilson  did 
not  renounce,  but  their  submitting  to  the  supposed  ordaining  power 
of  the  bishops,  which  was  an  invasion  of  the  divine  right  of  every 
Church  to  ordain  its  own  ministers. 


296 
No.  III. 

SPECIMENS    OF    CHURCU    DISCIPLINE. 

THE  early  records  of  the  New  Haven  Church  exhibit  the  course 
of  proceedings  in  only  one  instance  of  trial  and  censure,  and  in  one 
instance  of  absolution  or  the  restoration  of  an  offending  member  to 
regular  standing.  The  proceedings  in  these  instances  seem  to  have 
been  put  on  record,  as  specimens  of  church  discipline;  that  posterity 
might  know  both  the  principles  and  the  forms  by  which  such  pro- 
ceedings were  then  conducted.  That  there  were  other  instances  of 
excommunication  is  manifest  from  other  sources,  and  particularly 
from  the  records  of  the  town  ;  but  either  by  the  loss  of  the  records, 
or  the  negligence  of  the  proper  officer,  or — what  is  more  probable — 
because  no  record  of  such  transactions  was  considered  necessary, 
the  Church  book,  as  we  have  it,  is  silent  respecting  them. 

For  the  sake  of  the  authentic  and  lively  pictures  of  that  age,  which 
the  two  records  above  referred  to  exhibit,  I  transcribe  the  most  ma- 
terial parts  of  the  former,  and  the  whole  of  the  latter. 


"A  brief  story  of  Church  proceedings  with  Mrs.  Eaton  the  Gover- 
nor's wife*  for  divers  scandalous  offenses  which  she  gave  to  sundry 
out  of  the  Church. 

"  Matters  being  prepared,  they  were  propounded  to  the  Church 
by  the  ruling  elder,  in  the  public  assembly,  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
sixth  month,  1644,  after  the  contribution  on  the  Lord's  day,  as  fol- 
loweth  : 

"  The  elders  have  understood  by  divers  of  the  brethren  that  they 
do  wait  for,  and  expect  to  hear,  what  issue  the  business  that  con- 
cerns Mrs.  Eaton  is  brought  to.  The  elders  have  not  neglected  the 
looking  after  it,  but  have  now  prepared  matters  for  the  hearing  of 
the  Church.  If  the  brethren  be  willing  that  she  shall  be  now  called 

*  He  who  reads  Mather's  Life  of  Eaton  carefully,  cannot  but  observe  the 
emphasis  with  which  the  biographer  speaks  of  the  happiness  of  Eaton  with 
his  first  wife.  Mather  doubtless  knew  that  the  second  Mrs.  Eaton,  though 
a  bishop's  daughter,  was  not  a  comfortable  mate. 


297 

forth,  they  have  the  particulars  (o  read  unto  you.  And  if  they  said 
nothing  against  it,  they  should  take  their  silence  for  their  consent. 

"  And  after  a  little  pause,  the  brethren  being  silent,  the  ruling  elder 
called  Mrs.  Eaton  forth.  Then  our  pastor,  Mr.  Davenport,  stood  up 
and  spoke  as  followeth  : 

"  Brethren  you  do,  I  suppose,  expect  some  account  from  the  elders, 
of  the  issue  of  all  the  pains  and  patience  which  hath  been  exercised 
by  the  Church  towards  our  sister,  Mrs.  Eaton.  I  am  sorry  that  we 
cannot  give  in  such  a  return  as  might  answer  all  our  desires.  The 
public  offense  which  she  knows  is  grievous  to  us,  she  still  continueth 
in,  departing  from  the  assembly  whensoever  baptism  is  administered, 
or  else  absenting  herself  from  the  sermon  and  from  all  public  worship 
in  the  congregation,  though  she  knoweth  that  it  is  an  offense  to  the 
whole  Church.  How  she  fell  into  this  error,  you  partly  know.  Her 
will  was  gained  to  it  before  her  judgment,  and  therefore  she  sought 
some  arguments  or  other  against  the  baptizing  of  infants,  and  to 
that  end  spake  with  the  Lady  Moodey,*  and  importuned  her  to  lend 
her  a  book  made  by  A.  R. ;  which  having  gotten  into  her  hands  she 
read  secretly,  and  as  secretly  engaged  her  spirit  in  that  way.  For 
she  neither  asked  her  husband  at  home,  according  to  the  rule  1  Cor. 
xiv,  35,  (whose  faithfulness  and  sufficiency  to  have  held  forth  light 
to  her  according  to  God,  we  all  know,)  nor  did  she  seek  for  any 
light  or  help  from  her  pastor  according  to  the  rule  Mala,  ii,  7,  though 
in  other  cases  she  hath  come  freely  to  him,  and  departed  from  him 
not  without  fruit;  nor  did  she  seek  help  from  the  body  whereof  she 
is  a  member,  nor  from  any  members  of  this  body,  save  that  she 
showed  her  book  with  the  charge  of  secrecy  to  one  or  two  whom  she 
hoped  to  gain  to  her  party,  and  so  to  have  made  way  for  a  further 
spread  of  her  infection  in  the  body.  The  first  discovery  of  her  per- 
emptory engagement  was  by  her  departing  from  the  assembly  after 
the  morning  sermon  when  the  Lord's  supper  was  administered,  and 
the  same  afternoon,  after  sermon,  when  baptism  was  administered, 
judging  herself  not  capable  of  the  former,  because  she  conceited  her- 
self to  be  not  baptized,  nor  durst  she  be  present  at  the  latter,  ima- 
gining that  po:dobaptism  is  unlawful.  In  a  meeting  of  the  Church 
among  themselves  on  the  third  day  following,  some  of  the  brethren 

*  For  some  account  of  this  lady,  who  was  excommunicated  from  the  Church 
in  Salem,  1643,  and  "  to  avoid  further  trouble"  in  Massachusetts  "  removed 
to  the  Dutch"  and  settled  at  Gravesend  on  Long  Island ;  and  who  probably 
stopped  here  in  her  migration,  see  Savage's  Winthrop,  II,  123,  13<j. 

38 


298 

desired  that  Mrs.  Eaton  would  declare  her  reasons  whereupon  she 
thus  did  and  held.  She  professed  her  inability  to  speak,  but  told  us 
of  a  book  she  had,  which  had  taken  her  off  from  the  grounds  of  her 
former  practice ;  for  she  formerly  thought  that  baptism  had  come  in 
the  room  of  circumcision  and  therefore  might  lawfully  be  adminis- 
tered unto  infants  as  that  was.  Hereupon  I  asked  her  whether  if 
that  point  were  cleared  she  should  be  satisfied  ?  She  seemed  to  as- 
sent. Then  I  undertook  (with  the  help  of  Christ)  to  examine  her 
whole  book,  and  the  next  third  day  to  begin  to  speak  to  the  first  part 
of  it  in  the  meeting  of  the  Church  among  themselves,  and  the  next 
Lord's  day  to  begin  to  preach  out  of  Col.  ii,  11,  12,  thence  to  prove 
that  baptism  is  come  in  the  place  of  circumcision  and  is  to  be  admin- 
istered unto  infants,  and  so  to  answer  the  second  part  of  the  book  ; 
which  as  you  know  hath  been  done,  with  a  blessing  from  God  for 
the  recovery  of  some  from  this  error,  and  for  the  establishment  of 
others  in  truth.  Only  Mrs.  Eaton  [received]  no  benefit  by  all,  but 
continued  as  before.  Which  when  T  perceived,  thinking  that  there 
might  be  some  defect  in  her  understanding  what  was  spoken,  or  in 
her  memory,  I  put  myself  voluntarily  to  a  further  task  for  her  good ; 
and  wrote  out  what  I  spoke  in  the  Church  alone  in  answer  to  the 
former  part  of  the  book,  and  what  I  preached  in  public  to  the  next 
assembly  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  got  them  to  be  wrote  out  in  a  fair 
hand,  and  sent  them  to  her  husband  for  her  use,  with  this  request, 
that  it  would  please  him  to  join  with  himself  Mr.  Gregson  and  Mr. 
Hooke,  to  whom  probably  she  would  give  ear  sooner  than  to  others, 
and  let  one  read  A.  R.  and  the  other  read  my  answer,  by  several 
portions,  that  she  might  understand  what  was  read  and  have  liberty 
to  object  for  her  satisfaction  while  things  were  in  her  mind.  This 
they  did,  though  she  showed  much  backwardness  and  unwillingness 
thereunto ;  and  when  they  had  read  to  a  period  and  prayed  her  to 
speak  if  she  had  any  thing  to  say,  she  neither  would  object  nor  yield 
to  the  truth,  but  behaved  herself  with  such  contemptuous  carriages 
that  they  were  discouraged  in  the  beginning.  But  at  my  desire  they 
returned  to  it  again,  and  continued  thus  reading  till  they  had  gone 
through  the  book,  and  then  left  with  her  both  A.  R.  and  the  Answer. 
After  this  I  waited  to  see  if  her  own  private  reading  would  have  any 
better  success.  When  I  saw  that  she  continued  still  as  she  was,  nor 
did  propound  any  question,  I  marvelled  at  the  hand  of  God  herein, 
which  to  me  seemed  dreadful,  fearing  that,  as  before  she  would  not 
seek  light,  so  now  God  would  not  give  her  an  heart  to  receive  light. 


299 

Whilst  I  was  thus  sadly  exercised,  divers  rumors  were  spread  up  and 
down  the  town  of  her  scandalous  walking  in  her  family,  which  were 
in  the  mouths  of  many  before  they  came  to  my  knowledge,  being  al- 
most continually  in  my  study  and  family  except  some  public  work  or 
private  duty  call  me  forth.  At  last  I  with  two  or  three  of  the  breth- 
ren who  had  also  heard  of  this  common  fame,  considered  what  we 
were  called  to  do,  and  concluded  that  it  being  a  thing  commonly  and 
scandalously  reported,  the  rule  requireth  that  we  should  inquire, 
make  search,  and  ask  diligently  whether  it  were  true, — Deut.  xvii, 
13,  14,  by  proportion.  Accordingly  Mr.  Gregson,  Mr.  Hooke,  and 
myself,  went  to  Mr.  Eaton,  told  him  what  we  heard  commonly  re- 
ported, and  prayed  him  to  certify  us  whether  the  things  were  so  or 
not.  He  desired  us  to  speak  with  his  wife,,  which  accordingly  we 
did.  She  desired  us  to  ask  her  mother  and  daughter  and  servants, 
they  both  being  present,  and  calling  the  forenamed  into  the  room 
where  we  all  were.  Upon  inquiry  it  appeared  the  reports  were  true, 
and  more  evils  were  discovered  than  we  had  heard  of.  We  now  be- 
gan to  see  that  God  took  us  off  from  treating  with  her  any  further 
about  the  error  of  her  judgment,  till  we  might  help  forward  by  the 
will  of  God  her  repentance  for  these  evils  in  life,  believing  that  else 
these  evils  would  by  the  just  judgment  of  God  hinder  [her]  from  re- 
ceiving light,  and  that  repentance  for  these  would  further  light  and 
receiving  the  truth, — according  to  John  vii,  17.  We  therefore  agreed 
to  deal  with  her  in  a  private  way.  To  that  end,  because  the  matter 
was  past  the  first  step,  or  degree  of  one  with  one,  being  known  to  us 
all,  we  went  together  to  speak  with  Mrs.  Eaton,  and  held  forth  the 
particulars  and  the  rules  broken  by  fhem,  and  left  it  with  her,  exhort- 
ing her  to  repent.  And  having  waited  a  convenient  time,  but  with- 
out any  fruit  saving  a  discovery  of  her  hardness  of  heart  and  im- 
penitency,  we  told  her  that  we  must  acquaint  the  Church  with  this 
matter, — and  labored  with  her  to  prevent  it  in  part  at  least,  by  tak- 
ing up  the  matter  in  private,  by  holding  forth  her  repentance  pri- 
vately for  such  particulars  as  were  not  commonly  reported  ;  for  we 
were  unwilling  to  bring  forth  such  things  into  public ;  and  some  of 
them  were  of  a  smaller  kind  or  degree  of  evil  than  some  other  evils, 
and  therefore  might  more  easily  be  ended  if  it  pleased  her, — and  be- 
gan to  read  some  of  them  to  her.  She  refused  to  give  any  private 
satisfaction  for  any, — told  us  that  these  also  were  common  talk,  and 
that  she  herself  had  met  with  reports  of  them  in  other  houses.  We 
answered  that,  nevertheless,  seeing  that  we  had  not  heard  of  them, 


300 

we  were  not  bound  to  take  notice  of  them  in  public,  nor  would,  if 
the  Lord  would  help  her  to  see  the  evil  of  them,  and  to  hold  it  forth 
in  private.  She  utterly  refused,  and  told  us  we  labored  with  her  in 
vain,  and  should  have  no  other  answer,  and  wondered  that  the 
Church  did  not  proceed.  Thus  we  are  compelled  to  bring  sundry 
particulars  of  which  she  was  privately  admonished  unto  the  public 
notice  of  the  Church,  because  she  refused  to  hear  us  in  a  private 
way, — according  to  the  rule  in  Matt,  xviii,  17.  There  were  almost 
as  many  more  which  we  leave  out  (nor  did  privately  admonish  her 
of)  because  they  are  not  sufficiently  proved  by  two  witnesses  as  these 
are,  and  these  such  witnesses  as  herself  hath  not  excepted  against 
their  testimony,  though  she  hath  been  often  desired  to  object  or  an- 
swer, what  she  pleased.  The  elder  will  now  read  the  particulars  to 
you. 

"  The  several  facts  for  which  the  Church  censured  Mrs.  Eaton. 

"  1.  That  Mrs.  Eaton  one  day  sitting  at  dinner  with  Mr.  Eaton 
and  old  Mrs.  Eaton,*  Mrs.  Eaton  struck  old  Mrs.  Eaton  twice  on 
the  face  with  the  back  of  her  hand,  which  Mrs.  Eaton  saith  she  felt 
three  days  after ;  and  Mr.  Eaton  sitting  at  table  held  his  wife's  hands, 
and  whilst  Mr.  Eaton  held  his  wife's  hands  she  cried  out  with  such 
vehemency  of  spirit,  '  I  am  afflicted !  I  am  afflicted,'  as  her  mother 
saith  she  thought  she  might  be  heard  over  to  Mr.  Davenport's.  Wit- 
ness, old  Mrs.  Eaton,  and .  Herein  is  broken  the  fifth  com- 
mandment in  breaking  the  rules  of  her  relation  to  her  mother ;  and 
also  the  sixth  commandment  is  broken  in  her  sinful  rage  and  pas- 
sion, and  in  striking  her  mother. 

"  2.  Mrs.  Mary  Eatont  being  knitting  a  pair  of  gloves,  and  when 
she  had  knit  a  piece  of  a  glove,  her  mother  said  she  had  knit  a  glove 
and  a  piece,  which  Mrs.  Mary  denied,  and  said  she  had  not  knit  so 
much.  Her  mother  upon  this  grew  outrageous,  struck  her,  pinched 
her,  so  that  the  signs  of  it  appeared  upon  her,  and  knocked  her  head 
against  the  dresser,  which  made  her  nose  bleed  much.  Besides 
others  who  were  present,  this  was  done  before  four  Indians,  who 
were  then  in  the  kitchen.  Witnessed  by  old  Mrs.  Eaton,  and  Mrs. 

*  See  p.  112. 

t  Mary  was  the  daughter  of  Gov.  Eaton  by  his  first  wife.  She  afterwards 
was  married  to  Valentine  Hill,  who  in  1653  was  of  Piscataway,  but  at  an 
earlier  period  had  been  a  deacon  in  the  First  Church  of  Boston. 


301 

Mary,  and  Elizabeth  Browning,  who  saith,  though  she  was  not  in 
the  kitchen  when  this  was  done,  yet  she  was  above  in  the  chamber, 
and  heard  Mrs.  Mary  cry,  and  heard  the  blows  up  into  the  chamber, 
and  when  she  came  down  she  saw  Mrs.  Mary's  nose  bleed  very 
much ;  she  asked  what  was  the  matter,  and  they  told  her  Mrs.  Eaton 
had  beat  Mrs.  Mary.  This  is  a  breach  of  the  fifth  command  in 
breaking  the  rules  of  her  relation,  and  so  contrary  to  the  rule  of  the 
Apostle,  Eph.  vi,  4;  Col.  iii,  21.  And  likewise  she  hath  herein 
broken  the  sixth  commandment,  contrary  to  Matt,  v,  21, — contrary 
to  the  rule  of  the  Apostle,  Eph.  iv,  31.  Likewise  it  is  a  breach  of 
the  sixth  commandment,  as  it  is  a  just  offense  to  the  Indians  and  so 
a  means  of  the  murder  of  their  souls,  and  so  contrary  to  the  rule  of 
the  Apostle,  1  Cor.  x,  32. 

"  3.  That  Mrs.  Eaton  hath  unjustly  charged  Mrs.  Mary,  saying," 
&c.  [Mrs.  Mary  denies  the  imputation.  Mary  Launce*  confirms 
the  denial.]  "  Sister  Maudline  saith  that  she  living  in  the  house 
about  half  a  year,  never  saw  any  light  carriage  in  her  that  might  give 
any  suspicion  to  ground  any  such  charge ;  and  she  took  the  more 
notice  of  her  carriage,  because  old  Mrs.  Eaton  had  often  asked  her 
about  Mrs.  Mary's  carriage,  because  she  had  heard  her  mother  had 
spoken  many  suspicious  words  concerning  Mrs.  Mary.  Brother 
Lupton  saith  he  never  saw  any  thing  in  Mrs.  Mary  but  comely  and 
well.  Brother  Broadly  saith  for  light  carriage  in  Mrs.  Mary  with 
any  man,  he  never  saw  any  in  the  least,  nor  had  cause  for  any  such 
thought ;  and  Brother  Lupton  saith  the  same.  Mrs.  Eaton  being  de- 
manded by  Mr.  Gregson,  Mr.  Davenport  and  Mr.  Hooke,  why  she 
charged  Mrs.  Mary  with  such  things,  she  answered  that  she  said  it 
to  her  to  set  it  more  upon  her  to  prevent  it,  because  she  observed  her 
temper  and  carriage,  (saying  her  carriage  was  wanton.)  Being 
earnestly  pressed  to  give  an  instance  of  any  of  these  charges  upon 
her,  she  then  could  give  none.  This  charge  is  confessed  in  the 
answer  Mrs.  Eaton  gives.  This  is  a  breach  of  the  ninth  command, 
as  it  is  a  slander  and  that  of  a  high  nature ;  and  concerning  the  rea- 
son she  gives  why  she  laid  this  charge  upon  her  daughter,  it  is  con- 
trary to  Rom.  iii,  8. 

"  4.  Mrs.  Eaton  charged  Mrs.  Mary  to  be  the  cause  of  the  ruin  of 
the  souls  of  many  that  came  into  the  house,  especially  of  Mary 


*  Mary  Launce  was  the  second  wife  of  Rev.  John  Sherman  of  Watertown. 
See  p.  56.     She  was  still  living  when  Mather  published  his  Magnalia. 


302 

Launce,  but  showed  not  wherein.  Witness,  Mrs.  Mary,  and  Mary 
Launce.  This  is  a  sin  against  the  ninth  commandment,  and  con- 
trary to  Psal.  xv,  3." 

The  specifications  are  seventeen  in  number,  and  are  all  of  the 
same  kind  with  the  preceding ;  all  showing  a  violent  ungoverned 
temper,  venting  itself  in  the  most  abusive  words  towards  all  in  the 
family,  from  her  husband  down  to  "  Anthony  the  neager,"*  and 
sometimes  impelling  her  to  blows.!  In  these  days,  doubts  would  be 

*  Who  Anthony  was,  and  what  was  his  relation  to  Gov.  Eaton's  family, 
may  be  learned  from  the  record  of  "  a  court  the  7th  day  of  December,  1647. 

"  The  Governor  acquainted  the  Court  that  he  heard  that  Anthony  the  ne- 
gro, his  servant,  got  some  strong  water,  and  he  heard  that  he  was  drunk. 
Therefore  because  it  was  openly  known,  he  thought  it  necessary  the  matter 
should  be  heard  in  the  Court,  whereas,  had  it  been  kept  within  the  compass 
of  his  own  family  he  might  have  given  him  family  correction  for  it. 

"  Anthony  saith  he  did  go  to  Mr.  Evance's  house  for  some  sugar,  and 
Matthew  his  negro  asked  him  to  drink.  He' did  not  refuse  it;  and  Mr. 
Evance's  negro  poured  somewhat  out  of  a  runlet,  and  gave  it  him,  and  went 
away ;  and  he  drank,  not  knowing  what  it  was.  And  after  he  had  drunk,  he 
was  light  in  his  head  after  he  came  abroad. 

"  Mr.  Evance's  negro  saith,  Anthony  coming  to  their  house,  he  asked  him 
to  drink,  and  poured  out  some  strong  water  which  was  in  the  bottom  of  a 
runlet  into  a  pint  pot  and  drank  to  him.  It  was  asked  him  how  many  times 
Anthony  drank.  He  said  but  once ;  but  as  he  conceiveth,  at  once  he  drank 
about  the  quantity  of  two  wine  glasses.  It  was  asked  him  whether  he  gave 
it  him  for  beer,  or  told  him  what  it  was ;  or  whether  Anthony  knew  that  it 
was  strong  water.  He  said  he  could  not  tell. 

"  The  Court  considering  that  it  is  the  first  time  they  have  heard  any  thing 
of  Anthony  this  way;  and  possibly  he  might  not  know  what  he  drank  till 
afterwards,  it  being  given  him  in  such  a  vessel  as  is  used  to  drink  beer  out 
of;  and  hoping  it  will  be  a  warning  to  him  for  time  to  come,  thought  it  fit 
and  agreed  not  to  inflict  any  public  corporal  punishment  for  this  time  ;  but 
as  the  Governor's  zeal  and  faithfulness  hath  appeared  (not  conniving  at  sin 
in  his  own  family,)  so  they  leave  it  to  him  to  give  that  correction  which  he 
in  his  wisdom  shall  judge  meet." 

If  I  were  a  historical  painter,  I  should  be  tempted  to  take  for  a  subject,  the 
trial  of  Anthony  the  negro. 

t  The  fifteenth  particular  differs  slightly  from  the  others.  "  When  Mr. 
Davenport  was  in  preaching,  and  speaking  something  against  Anabaptism, 
Mrs.  Eaton  said,  as  she  sat  in  her  seat,  '  It  is  not  so.'  And  when  Mr.  Dav- 
enport said  he  would  be  brief,  she  said,  '  I  would  you  would,'  or  '  I  pray  be 
so.'  Anna  Eaton  heard  her  mother  speak  this,  and  told  her  brother,  and  he 
told  his  mother.  Old  Mrs.  Eaton  saith,  that  Theophilus  telling  his  mother 
of  it,  she  said  it  was  not  so.  Anna  Eaton  saith  that  her  mother  did  deny 
that  she  said  so.  But  Mrs.  Eaton  since  hath  acknowledged  she  did  speak  to 
that  purpose.  This  is  contrary  to  Isa.  xxx,  8 — 10." 


303 

raised  as  to  the  sanity  of  such  an  offender.  The  wife  of  Gov.  Hop- 
kins, who  was  Mrs.  Eaton's  daughter  by  her  former  husband,  was 
for  many  years  the  victim  of  mental  derangement.  The  paper  was 
concluded  with  some  testimony  of  a  general  nature,  from  "  Sister 
Preston,"  Mary  Launce,  Elizabeth  Browning,  "Brother  Lupton," 
and  "  Brother  Broadly."  "  Brother  Lupton  saith  that  it  was  usual 
when  he  came  home,  the  maids  would  complain  to  him  of  Mrs.  Ea- 
ton's unquietness  with  them ;  and  he  did  speak  with  Mrs.  Eaton, 
and  wish  her  to  live  in  love  and  peace.  She  did  lay  the  fault  on  her 
maids,  and  he  spake  to  them  not  to  provoke  their  mistress ;  and 
they  wished  him  to  pray  for  them  that  they  might  not  provoke  her, 
Mrs.  Mary  professing  it  was  the  desire  of  her  heart  to  give  her 
mother  content  and  not  willingly  provoke  her.  Brother  Broadly 
saith  he  never  knew  any  cause  given  by  the  maids  to  provoke  Mrs. 
Eaton,  but  that  they  had  great  provocations  from  her  ;  for  they  could 
do  almost  nothing  to  give  her  content,  which  did  discourage  them, 
and  many  times  made  them  careless.  He  further  saith  he  hath  ob- 
served Mrs.  Eaton's  way  to  be  very  unquiet,  unstable  and  self-willed, 
and  more  of  late  than  formerly. 

"  After  that  the  ruling  elder  had  read  these  several  facts,  he  pro- 
pounded to  Mrs.  Eaton  if  she  had  any  thing  to  object  against  these 
facts  that  were  charged  upon  her.  She  sat  down  and  said  nothing. 
After  this  was  done,  it  was  propounded  to  the  brethren  whether  the 
facts  that  were  read  and  charged  upon  Mrs.  Eaton  were  not  suffi- 
ciently proved  by  those  witnesses ;  and  they  gave  their  vote  that  they 
were  sufficiently  proved.  Then  it  was  propounded  to  the  brethren, 
that  they  having  heard  the  several  rules  that  was  charged  upon  Mrs. 
Eaton  to  be  broken  by  her,  whether  they  were  rightly  applied  to  the 
several  facts :  if  they  were  satisfied  therein  they  should  declare  it  by 
lifting  up  their  hands,  which  accordingly  they  did.  After  this  was 
done  it  was  again  propounded  to  the  brethren  that  they  having  heard 
the  several  facts  charged  and  proved,  and  the  rules  she  had  broken 
thereby,  they  should  take  it  into  their  consideration  whether  she  was 
presently  to  be  cast  out  for  these  facts,  or  whether  it  would  admit  of 
an  admonition  only  at  this  time.  Then  the  brethren  freely  spake 
their  apprehensions.  Then  our  pastor  stood  up  and  spake  to  the 
Church  and  held  forth  light  unto  them,  shewing  that  those  facts  were 
not  of  that  nature  that  they  called  for  a  present  cutting  off;  but  he 
rather  inclined  to  give  a  public  solemn  admonition ;  for  though  the 
charges  were  many  and  great,  yet  [it  was  to  be  considered]  whether 


304 

they  could  be  proved  to  proceed  from  a  habitual  frame  of  sinning  in 
her,  so  as  that  she  may  not  be  counted  a  visible  saint.  And  he  also 
showed  that  though  some  sins  could  not  admit  of  an  admonition  if 
they  were  public  scandals,  as  those  in  1  Cor.  v,  yet  whether  any  of 
these  facts  amounted  so  high  was  not  clear.  After  our  pastor  had 
done  speaking,  and  a  little  pause,  it  was  propounded  to  the  brethren 
whether  they  would  have  Mrs.  Eaton  at  that  time  only  admonished, 
and  they  that  were  of  that  mind  should  declare  it  by  holding  up  of 
hands ;  and  the  brethren  with  one  consent  declared  by  their  vote 
that  at  that  time  they  would  have  her  admonished.  After  the  vote 
was  passed,  Mrs.  Eaton  stood  up  and  spake  to  the  Church,  desiring 
that  at  that  time  there  might  be  no  censure  passed  upon  her.  Then 
our  pastor  stood  up  and  answered  her  that  seeing  the  matter  was 
brought  into  the  public,  such  evils  could  not  pass  without  the 
Church's  rebuke,  the  rule  being  they  that  sin  openly  must  be  re- 
buked openly,  and  she  must  hear  the  Church.  Then  our  pastor 
proceeded  and  passed  the  sentence  of  admonition  upon  her.  The 
form  of  the  admonition  was  thus,  that  '  In  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  with  the  consent  of  this  Church,  I  do  charge  thee, 
Mrs.  Eaton,  to  attend  unto  the  several  rules  that  you  have  broken, 
and  to  judge  yourself  by  them,  and  to  hold  forth  your  repentance 
according  to  God,  as  you  will  answer  it  at  the  great  day  of  Jesus 
Christ.' 

"After  this  admonition,  the  Church  waited,  expecting  the  fruit  of  it. 
But  they  found  by  clear  and  credible  information,  that  she  did  con- 
tinue offensive  in  her  way,  both  in  her  carriage  in  her  family  and  oth- 
erwise. And  in  this  time,  whilst  her  carriage  was  offensive,  she  sent 
a  writing  to  the  ruling  elder,  which  when  the  elders  had  considered, 
and  found  that  it  neither  came  up  to  the  acknowledging  the  particu- 
lars for  which  she  was  admonished,  nor  held  forth  repentance  accor- 
ding to  God,  and  that  her  spirit  was  wholly  under  the  former  distem- 
pers, the  elders  agreed  to  speak  with  her,  that  they  might  encourage 
her,  and  draw  her  further  on  to  repentance.  In  all  mildness  they 
told  her  what  was  defective  in  this  note,  and  what  further  would  be 
required  [according]  to  God  for  the  Church's  satisfaction,  to  wit, 
three  things, — 1,  that  she  should  acknowledge  the  facts  according  to 
the  evidence  in  the  particulars,  and  fall  under  the  rules  she  had 
transgressed  by  those  facts  as  appeared  in  the  admonition, — 2,  that 
she  should  [hold]  forth  her  repentance,  confess  her  sins,  and  judge 
herself  for  them, — 3,  that  because  there  was  a  tract  and  course  of 


305 

scandalous  miscarriages,  she  should  hold  forth  such  reformation  as 
might  be  testified  to  the  Church's  satisfaction  according  to  God  by 
some  that  ordinarily  conversed  with  her.  This  advice  she  seemed 
to  receive  thankfully,  and  to  purpose  to  apply  herself  thereunto. 

"  But  after  about  three  quarters  of  a  year  waiting,  no  fruit  of  re- 
pentance appeared,  so  that  sundry  of  the  Church  showed  themselves 
unsatisfied  at  these  delays.  From  sundry  other  Churches  also  in  the 
Bay  and  at  Connecticut,  being  made  acquainted  with  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Church  in  this  matter,  we  saw  that  the  Church  was 
thought  to  be  defective  by  their  slowness  to  use  the  last  remedy  which 
Christ  hath  appointed  for  recovery  in  this  case.  Hereupon  [the 
elders]  went  to  her  in  private,  and  told  her,  that  though  it  had  been 
her  duty  to  have  sought  reconciliation  with  the  Church,  whom  she 
had  offended,  and  knew  they  were  yet  unsatisfied,  yet  seeing  she 
neglected,  the  elders  came  to  her  to  see  what  fruit  yet  might  appear 
of  the  public,  solemn  admonition,  to  the  end  they  might  give  some 
account  thereof  to  the  Church.  She  answered,  she  confessed  it  was 
her  duty  so  to  have  done,  but  she  [was]  hindered  by  not  finding  in 
herself  repentance  to  her  own  satisfaction.  Being  then  pressed  to 
know  what  hindered  her  repentance,  and  told  that  it  must  be  either 
something  charged  upon  her  in  way  of  fact  whereof  she  was  not 
guilty,  or  else  some  rule  was  not  rightly  applied  to  her  conviction ;  if 
she  had  any  such  thing  to  alledge,  they  said,  '  We  are  here  to  inform 
your  judgment.'  She  answered,  she  had  nothing  to  say  against  the 
admonition.  Being  then  further  pressed  to  speak  if  any  such  objec- 
tion stuck  with  her,  or  else  they  could  not  see  but  she  hardened  her- 
self and  slighted  the  admonition,  then  she  said  she  was  not  convin- 
ced of  the  breach  of  the  fifth  commandment  in  the  first  fact  charged, 
for  she  did  not  acknowledge  her  husband's  mother  to  be  her  mother. 
The  elders  answered,  they  conceived  that  was  sufficiently  cleared 
before,  that  she  had  broken  the  fifth  commandment,  and  therefore 
referred  to  the  admonition ; — and  finding  that  she  continued  obsti- 
nate, parted  from  her  with  these  expressions,  that  we  must  give  an 
account  to  the  Church  of  what  we  found,  and  did  bewail  the  hard- 
ness of  her  heart,  and  should  mourn  for  her  in  secret. 

"  Between  this  and  the  time  she  was  to  give  her  answer  to  the 
Church,  she  sent  another  writing  to  the  ruling  elder,  which  when 
the  elders  read  they  found  it  to  be  far  short  of  holding  forth  that  re- 
pentance the  rule  required,  and  [far  short]  of  the  first  writing  which 
yet  when  she  wrote  she  was  under  the  power  of  distemper  as  before. 
39 


306 

And  so  [she]  continued  to  the  very  time  of  her  coming  before  the 
Church. 

"  Upon  the  20th  day  of  the  third  month,  1645,  being  the  Lord's 
day,  after  the  contribution,  Mrs.  Eaton  was  called  before  the  Church 
in  the  public  assembly,  to  see  what  fruit  was  of  the  admonition.  The 
particular  facts  charged  upon  her  were  read  unto  her.  She  answered 
then  to  some  of  them ;  but  it  growing  late,  the  Church  left  off  for 
that  time,  and  appointed  the  fourth  day  following  to  issue  that  mat- 
ter. The  next  fourth  day,  after  lecture  was  ended,  Mrs.  Eaton  was 
called  again.  When  she  gave  her  answer  to  the  Church,  it  pleased 
God  to  leave  her  so  far  to  herself  to  the  discovering  of  her  distemper, 
that  though  full  of  tears  at  other  times  when  she  hath  a  mind  to  ex- 
press herself  that  way,  yet  at  both  times  when  she  appeared  before 
the  Church  she  behaved  herself  without  any  show  of  remorse,  and 
expressed  herself  with  an  ostentation  of  empty  words,  which  fell  far 
short  of  the  several  charges  in  the  admonition ;  and  added  unto  the 
former  offenses  new  offenses  and  lies  in  the  presence  of  the  assembly 
as  followeth,"  &c. 

"  Before  the  Church  proceeded  to  sentence,  the  mind  of  God  con- 
cerning the  censure  was  so  [clear]  to  the  whole  Church,  that  the 
brethren  being  desired  by  the  elders  to  express  their  apprehensions 
concerning  the  case  in  hand,  sundry  of  the  brethren  spake  weightily 
to  convince  her  of  her  obstinacy  in  her  sins,  and  all  and  every  one 
of  them,  with  one  consent,  gave  their  vote  to  her  casting  out. — first, 
for  not  hearing  the  Church  in  her  admonition,  according  to  the  rule, 
Matt,  xviii, — secondly,  for  new  offenses  she  gave,  for  lying  before 
the  Church,  according  to  the  rule,  Rev.  xxii,  15,  and  1  Cor.  v.  And 
not  the  brethren  only,  but  some  elders  of  other  Churches  being  pre- 
sent, and  being  desired  by  the  elders  to  declare  their  judgment  con- 
cerning this  case,  they  did  both  speak  weightily  to  her,  and  justify 
the  way  of  the  Church  concerning  her  casting  out ; — one  of  them 
adding  that  if  this  case  had  been  in  the  Churches  up  the  river,  it 
would  not  have  been  delayed  so  long.  And  thus  with  much  grief  of 
heart,  and  many  tears,  the  Church  proceeded  to  censure;  wherein 
God  showed  a  wonderful  presence  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  that  were 
present." 


307 

Concerning  Henry  Glover's  seeking  reconciliation  with  the  Church, 
for  the  scandalous  evils  for  which  he  was  cast  out,  and  the  Church's 
receiving  of  him  again,  the  llth  day  of  the  6th  month,  1644. 

"  Henry  Glover  having  acquainted  the  elders  with  his  desire  of 
being  reconciled  to  the  Church,  and  to  hold  forth  his  repentance  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  Church  according  to  God  for  those  scandalous 
evils  for  which  he  was  justly  cast  out,  they  appointed  him  a  time  and 
heard  him  what  he  could  say ;  which  they  considered  of.  And  they 
likewise  heard  from  sundry  who  conversed  with  him,  of  his  sorrowful 
and  mournful  walking,  which  was  commonly  taken  notice  of,  as 
formerly  his  scandals  were.  The  elders  having  prepared  the  matter 
for  the  hearing  of  the  Church,  appointed  him  the  next  Lord's  day 
to  speak  before  the  whole  Church  in  the  mixed  assembly.  After  the 
morning  exercise  was  ended,  the  ruling  elder  desired  the  brethren 
to  stay ;  and  after  the  assembly  was  departed,  he  acquainted  them 
with  the  desire  of  Henry  Glover,  and  also  desired  those  brethren 
that  had  been  most  in  company  with  Henry  Glover,  they  should 
speak  what  they  had  observed.  Sundry  of  the  brethren  then  spoke, 
and  gave  an  encouraging  testimony  concerning  him.  The  brethren 
agreed  that  he  should  have  liberty  to  speak  in  the  afternoon.  After 
the  contribution  was  ended,  the  ruling  elder  declared  to  the  assembly 
that  Henry  Glover  who  stood  excommunicated,  desired  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God  and  to  the  Church,  and  to  hold  forth  his  repentance 
according  to  God.  If  the  brethren  consented  that  he  should  now 
speak,  we  should  take  their  silence  for  their  consent.  After  a  little, 
pause,  the  brethren  being  silent,  the  ruling  elder  desired  some  that 
stood  near  the  door  to  call  in  Henry  Glover.*  When  he  came  inA 
the  ruling  elder  spake  to  him,  and  told  him  that  he  had  liberty  granted, 
to  speak.  .  Then  he  acknowledged  the  several  facts  for  which  he 
was  cast  out,  and  the  rules  he  had  broken ;  and  showed  also  hovy 
many  temptations  he  had  been  exercised  with  from  Satan  since  he 
was  cast  out ;  and  how  God  had  humbled  him  for  those  sins  for 
which  he  was  cast  out,  and  made  them  bitter  to  him,  and  brought 
him  to  repentance,  and  gave  him  hope  of  mercy  in  the  preaching  of 
the  word  ;  and  also  expressed  his  earnest  desire  of  being  reconciled 
to  the  Church.  After  he  had  done  speaking,  the  ruling  elder  desi- 
red the  brethren  to  declare  whether  he  had  spoken  to  their  satisfac- 
tion ;  and  they  declared  their  apprehensions.  Afterwards  it  waa 

*  See  p.  48. 


308 

desired  of  those  brethren  that  lived  about  him,  and  had  most  deal- 
ing with  him,  they  should  testify  how  they  found  the  frame  of  his 
spirit,  and  what  humiliation  and  reformation  they  saw  of  those  evils 
for  which  he  was  cast  out ;  and  sundry  of  the  brethren  gave  a  good 
testimony  concerning  him.  After  this  it  was  desired  if  any  other 
that  were  not  of  the  Church  had  anything  wherein  they  were  unsat- 
isfied in  point  of  his  conversation,  they  might  speak  and  the  Church 
would  consider  of  it;  but  none  spoke  but  Goodman  Chapman,  who 
spoke  something  tending  to  clear  him. 

"Afterwards  it  was  propounded  to  the  brethren  whether  they 
would  defer  the  issuing  of  this  matter  till  next  Lord's  day,  the  busi- 
ness being  of  so  great  weight  as  the  loosing  a  man  from  his  sin  and 
setting  him  in  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  again.  The  brethren 
agreed  that  it  should  be  deferred  till  next  Lord's  day.  Henry  Glo- 
ver standing  up  by  a  pillar,  went  hastily  down  when  he  saw  it  was 
deferred  till  the  next  Lord's  day,  and  he  let  some  words  fall  which 
had  the  appearance  of  discontent  because  it  was  not  then  issued. 
His  carriage  in  this  matter,  to  the  elders  and  many  of  the  brethren 
that  observed  him,  had  an  appearance  of  passion  and  pride,  as  if  he 
thought  he  had  held  out  that  which  might  have  satisfied.  It  was 
desired  by  the  elders  that  he  might  be  called  in  again.  Our  pastor 
stood  up  and  spake  to  him,  and  told  him  that  there  was  a  law  in  the 
xiiith  and  xivth  Chapt.  Levit.  concerning  the  cleansing  the  leper,  that 
he  was  to  be  shut  up  seven  days  to  see  if  his  leprosy  was  cleansed. 
The  leper  under  the  law  answered  the  state  of  an  excommunicated 
person  now.  And  the  matter  being  so  weighty,  and  he  having  left 
some  suspicion  by  that  carriage  of  his  whether  he  was  perfectly  healed 
or  not,  made  it  necessary.  [He]  told  him  that  the  brethren  did  it 
out  of  tenderness  to  him.  So  it  was  respited  till  the  next  Lord's  day. 

"  The  next  Lord's  day,  Henry  Glover  was  called  again,  and  re- 
quired to  answer  some  questions  that  were  propounded  to  him  for 
the  more  full  satisfaction  of  the  Church  concerning  his  repentance, 
and  also  concerning  his  carriage  the  last  Lord's  day.  After  he  had 
answered,  it  was  propounded  to  the  brethren,  if  they  had  any  other 
thing  to  propound  to  him  they  should  speak.  After  sundry  had 
spoken  to  him  what  they  desired,  it  was  propounded  to  vote  in  man- 
ner following, — that  if  the  brethren  were  so  far  satisfied  with  what 
they  had  heard  Henry  Glover  hold  forth  concerning  his  repentance, 
as  they  were  willing  he  should  be  loosed  from  the  sentence  of  ex- 
communication under  which  he  stood  bound,  and  to  admit  him  to 


309 

the  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  Church  he  formerly  enjoyed,  they 
should  declare  it  by  holding  up  of  hands ;  which  they  did.  Then  it 
was  again  propounded  to  vote,  if  there  was  any  of  the  brethren  that 
was  otherwise  minded,  they  should  declare  it  by  holding  up  of  hands. 
But  there  was  none  held  up  to  the  contrary ;  but  all  the  brethren 
with  one  consent  agreed  to  the  receiving  him  again. 

"  Then  our  pastor  stood  up,  and  charged  him,  telling  him  that  he 
was  in  the  presence  of  Christ  who  searches  the  hearts  and  tries  the 
reins ;  and  though  the  Church  judged  as  men  by  such  rules  as  they 
were  to  walk  by,  yet  the  Lord  knew  whether  that  which  he  held 
forth  was  in  truth  or  not.  But  the  brethren  were  apt  to  receive  any 
thing  that  they  might  judge  according  to  rule  to  be  in  truth.  After 
he  had  done  speaking  he  went  to  prayer,  begging  a  blessing  on  the 
ordinance  of  absolution ;  and  in  his  prayer  went  over  all  the  particu- 
lars of  his  sins  for  which  he  was  censured,  and  how  he  was  hurried 
after  he  was  cast  out,  and  how  God  had  brought  him  to  repentance 
both  by  his  word  and  by  his  providences ;  and  he  begged  of  God 
that  he  would  make  it  appear  his  repentance  was  in  truth,  and  that 
what  was  done  by  the  Church  might  be  according  to  the  mind  of 
Christ,  and  that  he  would  ratify  it  in  heaven.  And  after  prayer  [he] 
pronounced  him  absolved,  thus,  '  Henry  Glover,  I  do  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  power  delegated  from  Jesus  Christ  to 
his  Church,  pronounce  thee  absolved  and  set  free  from  the  sentence 
of  excommunication  under  which  thou  hast  stood  bound,  and  do  re- 
store thee  to  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  this  Church  which  thou 
formerly  didst  enjoy.'  " 

I  know  not  where  to  look  for  a  more  copious  illustration  of  the  du- 
ties performed  by  the  ruling  elder  in  the  primitive  New  England 
Churches,  than  is  contained  in  the  preceding  records.  Why  was 
this  office  so  early  dropped  in  the  Churches  generally  1  The  most 
cogent  reason,  doubtless,  was  the  difficulty  of  rinding  suitable  men 
to  sustain  the  dignity  and  perform  the  work  of  such  an  eldership. 
The  fathers  of  New  England  carried  their  distinction  between 
Church  and  State  so  far,  that  no  man  who  held  any  civil  office  was 
allowed  to  hold  at  the  same  time  an  office  in  the  Church,  Thus  in 
1669,  Roger  Ailing  having  been  inadvertently  chosen  town  treasurer 
when  he  stood  under  a  nomination  for  the  office  of  deacon  in  the 
Church,  the  election  was  set  aside,  and  another  treasurer  chosen. 
And  ten  years  earlier,  Matthew  Gilbert  was  not  put  in  nomination 
for  the  magistracy,  till  he  had  ceased  to  be  deacon.  See  Savage's 
Winthrop,  I,  31. 


310 

No.  IV. 

THE    PRIMITIVE    MEETING   HOUSE    IN   NEW    HAVEN. 

THE  custom  still  lingers  in  some  parts  of  New  England,  of  "  seat- 
ing" the  people  in  the  meeting  house  by  a  committee.  When  this 
custom  was  given  up  in  New  Haven,  I  have  not  ascertained.  Prob- 
ably it  was  continued  till  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  In 
several  instances  the  records  of  the  town  exhibit  the  assignment  of 
persons  to  seats,  with  the  names  of  all  the  individuals.  The  earliest 
record  of  this  kind  is  in  the  proceedings  of  "  a  General  Court,"  or 
town  meeting,  "held  the  10th  of  March,  1646."  As  the  record 
shows  both  the  meeting  house  and  the  congregation,  I  have  thought 
it  worth  copying. 

"  The  names  of  people  as  they  were  seated  in  the  meeting  house 
were  read  in  court ;  and  it  was  ordered  that  they  should  be  recorded 
which  was  as  followeth,  viz : 

"  The  middle  seats  have,  to  sit  in  them, 

1st  seat.      The  Governor  and  Deputy  Governor. 

2d  seat.      Mr.  Malbon,  magistrate. 

3d  seat.  Mr.  Evance,  Mr.  Bracey,  Mr.  Francis  Newman,  Mr. 
Gibbard. 

4th  seat.  Goodman  Wigglesworth,  Bro.  Atwater,  Bro.  Seely,  Bro. 
Myles. 

5th  seat.  Bro.  Crane,  Bro.  Gibbs,  Mr.  Caffinch,  Mr.  Ling,  Bro. 
Andrews. 

6th  seat.  Bro.  Davis,  Goodman  Osborne,  Anthony  Thompson, 
Mr.  Browning,  Mr.  Rutherford,  Mr.  Higginson. 

7th  seat.  Bro.  Camfield,  Mr.  James,  Bro.  Benham,  Wm.  Thomp- 
son, Bro.  Lindall,  Bro.  Martin. 

8th  seat.  Jno.  Meggs,  Jno.  Cooper,  Peter  Browne,  Wm.  Peck, 
Jno.  Gregory,  Nich.  Elsie. 

9th  seat.  Edw.  Banister,  John  Herryman,  Benja.  Wilmot,  Jarvis 
Boykin,  Arthur  Holbridge. 

"  In  the  cross  seats  at  the  end, 

1st  seat.      Mr.  Pell,  Mr.  Tuttle,  Bro.  Fowler. 

2d  seat.     Thorn.  Nash,  Mr.  Allerton,  Bro.  Perry. 

3d  seat.     Jno.  Nash,  David  Atwater,  Thorn.  Yale. 


311 

4th  seat.     Robert  Johnson,  Thorn.  Jeffery,  John  Punderson. 

5th  seat.     Thom.  Munson,  John  Livermore,  Roger  Allen,  Jos. 
Nash,  Sam.  Whithead,  Thom.  James. 

In  the  other  little  seat,  John  Clarke,  Mark  Pierce. 

"In  the  seats  on  the  side,  for  men, 

1st,  Jeremy  Whitnell,  Wm.  Preston,  Thomas  Kimberly,  Thom. 
Powell. 

2d,  Daniel  Paul,  Rich.  Beckly,  Richard  Mansfield,  James  Russell. 

3d,  Wm.  Potter,  Thom.  Lampson,  Christopher  Todd,  William 
Ives. 

4th,  Hen.  Glover,  Wm.  Tharpe,  Matthias  Hitchcock,  Andrew  Low. 

"  On  the  other  side  of  the  door. 

1st,  John  Mosse,  Luke  Atkinson,  Jno.  Thomas,  Abraham  Bell. 

2d,   George  Smith,   John  Wackfield,  Edw.   Pattison,   Richard 
Beech. 

3d,   John  Basset,  Timothy  Ford,  Thom.  Knowles,  Robert  Preston. 

4th,  Richd.  Osborne,  Robert  Hill,  Jno.  Wilford,  Henry  Gibbons. 

5th,  Francis  Browne,  Adam  Nichols,  Goodman  Leeke,  Goodman 
Daighton. 

6th,  Wm.  Gibbons,  John  Vincent,Thomas  Wheeler,  John  Brockett. 

"  Secondly,  for  the  women's  seats,  in  the  middle. 

1st  seat.     Old  Mrs.  Eaton. 

2d  seat.      Mrs.  Malbon,   Mrs.   Grigson,   Mrs.  Davenport,    Mrs. 
Hooke. 

3d  seat.     Elder  Newman's  wife,  Mrs.  Lamberton,  Mrs.  Turner, 
Mrs.  Brewster. 

4th  seat.     Sister  Wakeman,  Sister  Gibbard,  Sister  Gilbert,  Sister 
Myles. 

5th  seat.     Mr.  Francis  Newman's  wife,  Sister  Gibbs,  Sister  Crane; 
Sister  Tuttil,  Sister  Atwater. 

6th  seat.     Sister  Seely,  Mrs.  Caffinch,  Mrs.  Perry,  Sister  Davis, 
Sister  Cheevers,  Jno.  Nash's  wife. 

7th  seat.     David  Atwater's  wife,  Sister  Clarke,  Mrs.  Yale,  Sister 
Osborne,  Sister  Thompson. 

8th  seat.     Sister  Wigglesworth,  Goody  Johnson,  Goody  Camfield, 
Sister  Punderson,  Goody  Meggs,  Sister  Gregory. 

9th  seat.     Sister  Todd,  Sister  Boykin,  Wm.  Potter's  wife,  Mat- 
thias Hitchcock's  wife,  Sister  Cooper. 

"  In  the  cross  seats  at  the  end. 

1st,  Mrs.  Bracey,  Mrs.  Evance. 


312 

2d,  Sister  Fowler,  Sister  Ling,  Sister  Allerton. 
•  3d,    Sister  Jeffery,  Sister  Rutherford,  Sister  Livermore. 

4th,  Sister  Preston,  Sister  Benham,  Sister  Mansfield. 

5th,  Sister  Allen,  Goody  Banister,  Sister  Kimberly,  Goody  Wil- 
mott,  Mrs.  Higginson. 

In  the  little  cross  seat,  Sister  Potter  the  midwife,  and  old  Sister 
Nash. 

"  In  the  seats  on  the  sides. 

1st  seat.     Sister  Powell,  Goody  Lindall,  Mrs.  James. 

2d  seat.  Sister  Whithead,  Sister  Munson,  Sister  Beckly,  Sister 
Martin. 

3d  seat.  Sister  Peck,  Joseph  Nash's  wife,  Peter  Browne's  wife, 
Sister  Russell. 

4th  seat.     Sister  Ives,  Sister  Bassett,  Sister  Pattison,  Sister  Elsie. 

"  In  the  seats  on  the  other  side  of  the  door. 

1st  seat.  Jno.  Thomas's  wife,  Goody  Knowles,  Goody  Beech, 
Goody  Hull. 

2d  seat.  Sister  Wackfield,  Sister  Smith,  Goody  Mosse,  James 
Clarke's  wife. 

3d  seat.     Sister  Brockett,  Sister  Hill,  Sister  Clarke,  Goody  Ford. 

4th  seat.  Goody  Osborne,  Goody  Wheeler,  Sister  Nichols,  Sister 
Browne." 

From  the  fact  that  in  the  foregoing  schedule,  no  seat  is  assigned 
to  Ezekiel  Cheevers,  and  from  some  occasional  mention  of'  "  the 
scholars'  seats"  in  other  parts  of  the  records,  it  may  be  inferred  that 
the  pupils  of  the  school  were  seated  together,  perhaps  in  the  gallery, 
under  the  care  of  their  instructor.  Servants  also,  and  young  people 
generally,  seem  to  have  no  place  in  the  schedule.* 

*  The  reader  will  notice  that  in  this  assignment  of  seats  no  mention  is 
made  of  "  Mrs.  Eaton  the  Governor's  wife ;"  which  seems  to  agree  with 
what  Lechford  says  as  cited  on  p.  48.  Another  assignment  of  seats  was 
made  in  1655;  and  then,  as  the  committee  come  to  "  the  women's  seats," 
they  begin  thus,  "  The  long  seats.  The  first  as  it  was,"  giving  no  name. 
Yet  in  the  same  document,  that  is  afterwards  spoken  of  as  "  Mrs.  Eaton's 
seat."  If  there  had  been  such  a  rule  as  Lechford  describes,  they  seem  to 
have  begun  to  get  around  it  as  early  as  1655.  At  the  second  seating,  the 
house  seems  to  have  been  more  crowded  than  at  the  first ;  probably  because 
many  who  in  1646  were  servants,  had  in  1655  become  householders,  and 
under  the  equalizing  influence  of  free  institutions,  were  approaching  the 
same  level  with  their  former  masters. 


313 


No.  V. 

NOTICES    OF   SOME    OF   THE    PLANTERS    OF    NEW    HAVEN. 

STEPHEN  GOODYEAR,  who  from  the  organization  of  the  civil  gov- 
ernment of  New  Haven  till  his  death,  stood  almost  uniformly  in  the 
office  of  deputy  governor,  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  merchants 
who  followed  Mr.  Davenport  from  London  to  this  country,  and  whose 
commercial  habits  and  tastes  determined  the  location  of  the  colony 
and  the  plan  of  the  town.  His  wife  was  one  of  the  company  who 
were  lost  at  sea  in  1646.  (Winthrop,  II,  176.)  He  afterwards  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Lamberton,  the  widow  of  the  master  of  that  unfortunate 
bark.  Among  other  specimens  of  his  activity  and  public  spirit,  we 
find  him  in  1655  forward  in  proposing  and  getting  up  "  the  iron 
works"  at  East  Haven,  which  he  thought  "  would  be  a  great  advan- 
tage to  the  town."  He  died  in  London,  in  the  year  1658.  He  was 
obviously  considered  by  the  colonists,  as  second  only  to  Eaton  in 
qualifications  for  the  service  of  their  commonwealth.  Trum.  I,  233. 

THOMAS  GREGSON,  (or  GRIGSON,)  was  a  man  of  less  wealth  than 
many  of  his  associates  in  the  colony;  yet  while  he  lived  he  was  con- 
tinually entrusted  with  important  offices.  He  was  always  one  of  the 
"  magistrates,"  who  with  the  governor  and  deputy  governor,  were 
at  once  the  superior  branch  of  the  legislature,  and  the  supreme  judi- 
ciary. He  was  sent  with  Gov.  Eaton,  in  1643,  to  meet  commission- 
ers from  the  other  colonies,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  that  New  Eng- 
land confederacy,  in  which,  with  its  annual  congress,  the  philosophic 
reader  of  history  sees  the  first  manifestation  of  the  tendency  which 
has  resulted  in  our  great  federal  government.  In  only  one  instance 
while  he  lived,  was  any  other  person  associated  with  Eaton  in  the 
responsibility  of  representing  New  Haven  colony  in  that  congress. 
Of  his  activity  as  a  member  of  the  Church,  some  indication  appears 
in  the  extracts  from  early  Church  records  in  No.  Ill,  of  this  Appen- 
dix. He  was  one  of  those  lost  at  sea  in  1646,  he  being  then  com- 
missioned by  the  colony  to  apply  to  parliament  for  a  charter.  His 
only  son  afterwards  settled  in  London.  One  of  his  daughters  mar- 
ried the  Rev.  John  Whiting  of  Hartford.  Dodd,  East  Haven  Reg- 
ister, 125. 

40 


314 

His  name  has  had  some  accidental  celebrity,  by  its  being  the 
theme  of  one  of  the  stupendous  falsehoods  of  Peters.  See  Kingsley's 
Discourse,  87—90. 

The  two  most  remarkable  military  men  of  the  New  England  colo- 
nies, Standish  of  Plymouth,  and  Mason  of  Connecticut,  had  acquired 
military  skill  and  experience  in  the  wars  of  the  Netherlands.  The 
same  is  true  of  Underbill,  first  of  Boston,  afterwards  of  Piscataqua, 
afterwards  for  a  season  of  Stamford,  in  the  New  Haven  jurisdiction, 
and  afterwards  a  subject  of  the  Dutch  government  in  the  New  Neth- 
erlands, whose  wife  was  a  Dutch  woman,  and  who  was  himself  one 
of  the  most  dramatic  characters  in  our  early  history.  The  same  may 
be  presumed  of  "  Captaine  NATHANCEL  TURNER,"  who  at  a  General 
Court  on  the  1st  of  the  7th  month,  1640,  was  formally  "chosen"  "to 
have  the  command  of  all  martiall  affairs  of  this  plantation."  Like 
Underbill,  he  had  acquired  his  military  title  before  coming  to  this 
country.  He  was  made  a  freeman  of  Massachusetts  in  October, 
1630.  His  name  next  appears  in  the  first  roll  of  representatives  in 
Massachusetts,  (A.  D.  1634,)  he  having  been  deputed  from  Sagus, 
where  he  was  one  of  the  most  considerable  planters.  Winthrop,  1, 129. 
Next  we  find  him  (ibid.  192,)  one  of  the  captains  in  the  expedition 
of  1636,  from  Massachusetts  against  the  Pequots.  In  January,  1637, 
his  house  at  Sagus  was  burnt  down,  "  with  all  that  was  in  it  save 
the  persons."  (ibid.  213.)  The  editor  of  Winthrop  (II,  276,)  speaks 
of  him,  (I  know  not  on  what  authority,)  as  having  been  in  Stough- 
ton's  expedition  in  1637;  though  the  burning  of  his  house  in  Jan- 
uary might  naturally  have  excused  him  from  such  a  service  in  June. 
In  1638,  he  accompanied  the  adventurers  who  were  to  form  the  new 
colony  at  Q,uinnipiack.  In  this  colony  he  was  one  of  the  most 
valued  men.  He  not  only  had  "  the  command  of  all  martial  affairs," 
but  was  continually  entrusted  with  important  civil  offices.  He  was 
one  of  the  committee  of  six  appointed  in  1639,  to  "  have  the  dispo- 
sing of  all  the  house  lots  about  this  towne,"  and  without  whose  "  con- 
sent and  allowance"  none  should  come  to  dwell  as  planters.  He 
was  the  agent  of  New  Haven  for  the  purchase  of  land  on  the  Dela- 
ware Bay,  and  the  beginning  of  a  plantation  there.  In  1643,  at  the 
first  complete  organization  of  a  legislature  for  the  whole  jurisdiction, 
he  was  one  of  the  deputies  from  New  Haven.  He  too  was  lost  in 
the  fatal  ship.  His  wife  afterwards  married  a  Dutch  merchant, 
Samuel  Goodenhouse,  (or  Van  Goodenhousen,)  who  was  for  many 


316 

years  settled  in  New  Haven.  Was  this  alliance  because  Capt.  Tur- 
ner's wife,  like  Capt.  Underbill's,  was  a  Dutch  woman  ?  The  de- 
scendants of  Capt.  Turner,  bearing  his  name,  reside,  I  believe,  in 
North  Haven.  Thomas  Mix,  the  common  ancestor  of  all  who  bear 
that  name,  and  the  great  grandfather  of  the  late  Judge  Stephen  Mix 
Mitchell,  married  Rebecca,  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Turner. 

Lieut.  ROBERT  SEELY,  (or  CEELY,)  is  named  by  Lyon  Gardner  in 
his  "  Relation  of  the  Pequot  wars,"  (III,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Ill,  153,) 
"  as  one  of  the  right  New  England  worthies,"  who  with  Maj.  Mason 
and  Capt.  Underbill,  "  undertook  the  desperate  way  and  design  to 
Mistick  Fort."  He  was  made  a  freeman  of  Massachusetts  in  Octo- 
ber, 1630,  and  was  of  Watertown  in  1631.  (Farmer.)  Having  re- 
moved with  other  Watertown  people  to  Connecticut,  probably  to 
Wethersfield,  he  was  Capt.  Mason's  lieutenant  in  the  celebrated 
expedition  which  annihilated  the  Pequots.  (Ill,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll. 
Ill,  143.)  At  the  organization  of  the  government  of  New  Haven, 
he  was  chosen  marshall,  which  office  he  retained  till  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  "  Brother  Thomas  Kimberly."  In  1642,  he  was  formally 
chosen  lieutenant  of  the  train  band,  and  after  that  election  he  was, 
as  before,  frequently  employed  about  the  martial  affairs.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1646,  he  "  had  liberty  of  the  court  to  depart  for  England,  though 
a  public  officer."  He  seems  however  either  to  have  deferred  his 
voyage,  or  to  have  been  absent  only  a,  few  months,  for  in  February, 
1648,  he  was  still  here.  From  June,  1651,  he  seems  to  have  been 
absent  for  a  long  time.  In  1662,  he  had  "  returned  from  England  ;" 
and  at  a  town  meeting,  "  a  motion  was  made  in  his  behalf  for  some 
encouragement  for  his  settling  among  us,"  which  does  not  appear  to 
have  resulted  in  any  thing  effectual.  Probably  he  settled  either  on 
Long  Island  or  in  Fairfield  county.  A  Capt.  Seely  of  Stratford,  fell 
in  "the  great  swamp  fight"  with  the  Narragansetts,  in  1675. 

WILLIAM  GIBBARD  was  for  many  years  Treasurer  of  the  town  and 
of  the  colony  ;  and  from  1658,  till  just  before  the  union  with  Con- 
necticut, Secretary.  While  the  records,  full,  minute  and  accurate, 
shall  remain,  his  works,  notwithstanding  his  complaint  "  that  his 
hand  was  much  too  slow  for  the  court,"  will  not  cease  to  praise  him. 
Of  his  modesty,  one  specimen  may  be  given,  which  sets  in  a  striking 
light  the  difference  between  ancient  and  modern  times.  In  April, 
1661,  he  was  nominated  at  a  town  meeting,  to  be  propounded  at  the 


316 

court  of  election,  for  a  magistrate;  whereupon  he  "declared  that  he 
was  satisfied  in  himself  that  he  was  not  called  of  God  to  that  place, 
both  in  regard  of  some  inward  unfitness  which  he  finds  in  himself, 
and  in  regard  of  some  circumstances  respecting  his  outward  condi- 
tion which  would  not  admit  of  it."  His  fellow  citizens  thought  more 
highly  of  him  than  he  thought  of  himself,  and  insisted  on  their  nomi- 
nation. They  told  him  "  that  what  was  done  had  not  been  done 
rashly ;  they  therefore  saw  not  ground  to  alter  from  it,  nor  must  they 
make  any  such  precedent,  which  would  be  of  such  ill  consequence." 
Being  thus  promoted  against  his  will,  the  office  of  Secretary  passed 
from  his  hands  into  those  of  James  Bishop. 

In  1656,  his  barn  was  set  on  fire  by  the  malice  of  an  indented 
servant  boy,  and  both  barn  and  house  were  consumed.  Two  years 
afterwards,  "  Mr.  Gibbard  acquainted  the  town  that  a  friend  of  his 
in  England  hath  sent  a  parcel  of  books  to  the  town  in  the  way  of 
thankfulness  for  the  kindness  that  the  said  Mr.  Gibbard  had  received 
from  them  since  his  house  was  burned;  and  he  now  desired  to  know 
how  the  town  would  have  them  disposed  of.  It  was  declared  that 
seeing  they  are  most  of  them  Latin  school  books,  they  leave  it  to 
him,  the  schoolmaster,  arid  such  others  as  they  shall  take  in  to  ad- 
vise with  for  the  disposing  of  them."  He  died  in  1663. 

JOHN  NASH  deserves  to  be  commemorated  here  for  an  instance 
of  modesty  parallel  to  that  exhibited  by  Secretary  Gibbard.  He  had 
long  been  a  man  of  some  military  standing,  as  ensign,  and  as  lieuten- 
ant. In  1660,  "  it  being  recommended  by  the  General  Court  to  the 
several  plantations,  that  as  they  are  furnished  with  able  men,  a  cap- 
tain might  be  chosen  for  the  military  service,  Lieutenant  Nash  was 
nominated  as  a  man  fit  for  that  place;  whereupon  he  declared  that 
he  hoped  the  rules  of  God  in  Scripture  would  be  considered  and  at- 
tended in  this  matter,  whereby  it  appears  that  such  as  were  chosen 
were  men  of  courage  and  valor,  chief  men,  men  of  estates,  such  as 
rendered  the  place  to  be  a  place  of  respect.  He  said  he  was  satisfied 
in  himself  that  he  was  not  meetly  qualified  for  that  place,  and  desired 
that  they  would  not  choose  a  man  to  expose  themselves  and  him  to 
derision.  The  Governor  told  the  town,  (they  having  heard  Lieut. 
Nash's  answer,)  they  might  propound  some  other.  But  the  freemen 
and  others  still  showing  their  inclination  to  him,  he  said  that  he 
could  not  see  it  to  be  the  will  of  God  for  him  to  accept  though  they 
should  choose ;  which  if  they  did  he  thought  would  put  him  upon  a 


317 

temptation  to  refuse,  or  else  to  think  of  removing,  which  he  desired 
they  would  not  put  him  to,  but  that  it  might  be  forborne.  Which  be- 
ing put  to  vote,  it  was  yet  determined  to  proceed  to  a  present  choice. 
But  Lieutenant  Nash  earnestly  pressing  them  to  forbear,  appealing 
to  God  who  knew  the  uprightness  of  his  heart  in  what  he  had  said, 
it  was  respited  till  another  time.  Whereupon  Lieutenant  Nash 
thanked  the  town  for  sparing  him  at  this  time,  and  said,  if  God  shall 
persuade  his  heart  of  his  call  to  this  work,  he  shall  be  willing  to  do 
the  town  service."  Ultimately,  I  believe,  but  not  till  more  than  a 
year  afterwards,  the  Lieutenant  became  convinced  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  his  call  to  be  Captain.  In  1672,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the 
Assistants  of  Connecticut.  (Trumbull,  I,  322.)  See  p.  160. 

MATTHEW  GILBERT,  who  was  one  of  the  "  seven  pillars,"  and  who 
in  connection  with  Robert  Newman,  was  chosen  one  of  the  first 
deacons  of  the  Church,  appears  to  have  resigned  the  deacon's  office 
in  1658,  if  not  earlier,  for  in  that  year  he  was  chosen  one  of  the 
Magistrates,  and  about  the  same  time,  the  ordination  of  Brother 
Peck  and  Brother  Miles  to  the  deacon's  office,  was  entered  in  the 
Church  Records.  In  1661,  after  the  death  of  Gov.  Newman,  Mr. 
Gilbert  was  chosen  deputy  governor.  Three  years  afterwards,  he 
was  superseded  in  that  office  by  Gov.  Jones,  and  was  again  elected 
Magistrate.  This  was  the  last  year  of  the  independent  jurisdiction 
of  New  Haven  Colony.  He  died  in  1680 ;  and  it  is  probably  his 
grave,  with  the  initials  M.  G.,  which  is  pointed  out  as  the  grave  of 
Goffe  the  Regicide. 

ROBERT  NEWMAN,  first  deacon,  and  afterwards  ruling  elder,  is 
mentioned  with  some  particulars  on  p.  20.  FRANCIS  NEWMAN,  to 
whose  minute  accuracy  as  Secretary,  afterwards  imitated  by  Gib- 
bard  and  Bishop,  we  are  indebted  for  almost  all  our  knowledge  of 
the  early  times  of  New  Haven,  is  commemorated  on  pages  114,  115. 
Robert  Newman  appears  to  have  returned  to  London  after  1651,  and 
sometime  before  1657.  See  p.  157. 

The  reader  will  naturally  inquire  after  the  "  seven  pillars."  Of 
the  first  four,  Eaton,  Davenport,  Newman,  and  Gilbert,  he  is  already 
sufficiently  informed.  The  remaining  three  were  less  distinguished. 

THOMAS  FUGILL  was  the  first  Secretary,  with  the  title  of  "  public 
notary."  The  records  made  by  him  are  a  wonder  for  the  beauty  of 


318 

the  penmanship  ;  but  they  are  far  less  satisfactory  than  those  made 
by  his  successors,  particularly  after  Francis  Newman  came  into  that 
office.  In  the  year  1645,  he  fell  under  censure  for  having  made  an 
incorrect  record  for  his  own  advantage.  He  was  very  sternly  dealt 
with,  turned  out  of  his  office,  and  excommunicated  from  the  Church. 
Soon  afterwards  he  returned,  it  is  believed,  to  London. 

Of  JOHN  PUNDERSON,  little  appears  upon  the  records.  His  de- 
scendants have  been  numerous  and  respectable.  His  son  John,  and 
his  grandson  John,  were  deacons  of  the  Church  of  which  he  was  one 
of  the  founders.  He  died  February  11,  1680. 

JEREMIAH  DIXON,  (in  the  records  his  name  is  written  Jeremy,}  left 
New  Haven  at  an  early  period  ;  and  I  have  as  yet  been  unable  to 
trace  him.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  returned  to  England ;  yet  his 
removal  was  probably  to  a  distance. 

In  selecting  the  seven  pillars  it  seems  to  have  been  intended  to 
have  all  orders  and  ranks  in  the  community  fairly  represented.  Fu- 
gill  and  Punderson  were  men  of  small  estates.  Dixon  was  an  un- 
married man. 

Master  EZEKIEL  CHEEVER,  (or  CHEEVERS,)  was  the  father  of  New 
England  schoolmasters.  He  died  in  August,  1708,  having  probably 
outlived  all  who  with  him  were  the  founders  of  the  New  Haven 
Church.  His  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Cotton  Mather,  and 
published  with  a  "Historical  Introduction,"  and  a  poetical  "  Essay" 
on  his  memory.  Some  extracts  from  the  work  are  given  in  II,  Mass. 
Hist.  Coll.  VII,  130,  as  supplementary  to  a  brief  account  of  Cheever 
gathered  out  of  the  town  records,  by  the  late  Col.  Lyon. 

Mather  says,  in  his  "  Historical  Introduction,"  "  He  was  born  in 
London  many  years  before  the  birth  of  New  England.  It  was  Jan- 
uary 25th,  1614  (i.  e.  16f|.)  He  arrived  in  this  country  in  June, 
1637,  with  the  rest  of  those  good  men,  who  sought  a  peaceable 
secession  in  an  American  wilderness,  for  the  pure  evangelical  and 
instituted  worship  of  our  great  Redeemer,  to  which  he  kept  a  strict 
adherence  all  his  days.  He  then  sojourned  first,  a  little  while,  part  of 
a  year,  at  Boston  ;  so  that  at  Boston  he  both  commenced  and  conclu- 
ded his  American  race.  His  holy  life  was  a  married  life.  He  died 
in  Boston,  August  21st,  1708,  in  the  ninety-fourth  year  of  his  age ; 
after  he  had  been  a  skilful,  painful,  faithful  schoolmaster  for  seventy 
years ;  and  had  the  singular  favor  of  Heaven,  that  though  he  had 
usefully  spent  his  life  among  children,  yet  he  had  not  become  twice  a 


319 

child,  but  held  his  abilities,  with  his  usefulness,  in  an  unusual  degree, 
to  the  very  last." 

In  the  Sermon,  Dr.  Mather  says,  "  It  was  noted,  that  when  schol- 
ars came  to  be  admitted  into  the  College ,  they  who  came  from  the 
Cheeverian  education,  were  generally  the  most  unexceptionable.  He 
flourished  so  long  in  the  great  work  of  bringing  our  sons  to  be  men, 
that  it  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  send  forth  many  Bezaleels  and 
Aholiabs  for  the  service  of  the  tabernacle,  and  men  fitted  for  all  good 
employments.  He  that  was  my  master  seven  and  thirty  years  ago, 
was  a  master  to  many  of  my  betters  no  less  than  seventy  years  ago  ; 
so  long  ago,  that  I  must  even  mention  my  father's  tutor  for  one  of 
them." 

Particular  notice  is  taken  of  "  his  pietyv  and  his  care  to  infuse 
documents  of  piety  into  the  scholars  under  his  charge,  that  he  might 
carry  them  with  him  to  the  heavenly  world.  He  so  constantly  prayed 
with  us  every  day,  and  catechized  us  every  week,  and  let  fall  such 
holy  counsels  upon  us ;  he  took  so  many  occasions  to  make  speeches 
to  us,  that  should  make  us  afraid  of  sin,  and  of  incurring  the  fearful 
judgments  of  God  by  sin, — that  I  do  propose  him  for  imitation." 

Having  shown  what  his  "  master  was  in  the  school,"  he  adds, 
"Out  of  the  school,  he  was  one,  antiqud  fide,  priscis  moribus;  a 
Christian  of  the  old  fashion  ;  an  OLD  NEW  ENGLAND  CHRISTIAN  ; 
and  I  may  tell  you,  that  was  as  venerable  a  sight  as  the  world,  since 
the  days  of  primitive  Christianity,  has  ever  looked  upon.  He  was 
well  studied  in  the  body  of  divinity ;  an  able  defender  of  the  faith 
and  order  of  the  gospel ;  notably  conversant  and  acquainted  with 
the  scriptural  prophecies. 

"  He  lived  as  a  master  the  term  which  has  been,  for  above  three 
thousand  years,  assigned  for  the  life  of  man ;  he  continued  to  the 
ninety-fourth  year  of  his  age, — his  intellectual  force  as  little  abated 
as  his  natural." 

Col.  Lyon  says,  in  his  brief  Note  on  Ezekiel  Cheever,  "  I  am  igno- 
rant whether  he  came  from  England  with  Governor  Eaton,  in  1637, 
or  joined  him  at  Boston ;  but  he  came  to  New  Haven  with  him. 
His  name  appears  in  the  Plantation  Covenant,  signed  in  Newman's 
barn,  June  4,  1639.  Although  a  poor  man,  he  must  have  been  of 
considerable  estimation,  as  he  signed  among  their  principal  men. 
Every  thing  was  done  with  much  formality  at  that  time.  By  their 
doomsday-book,  I  find  his  family  consisted  of  himself  and  wife  only. 
She  died  in  1649.  His  estate  was  set  at  =£20,  and  a  few  acres  of 


320 

wild  land  beside.  He  taught  school,  and  sometimes  conducted  pub- 
lic worship.  It  is  probable  that  he  wrote  his  ACCIDENCE  at  New 
Haven.  In  1644,  his  salary  was  raised  to  <£30  per  annum  ;  for  three 
years  before,  he  had  received  but  =£20  per  annum. 

"  I  suppose  he  left  this  town  about  the  year  1650,  (his  name  does 
not  appear  on  the  records  after  that,)  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
long  life  in  the  Bay  State.  In  Cambridge  catalogue,  I  see  that 
Thomas  Cheever  was  graduated  in  1677 ;  perhaps  a  son  of  Ezekiel, 
by  a  second  wife." 

What  Col.  Lyon  calls  the  "  doomsday-book"  of  the  New  Haven 
planters  may  be  seen  in  Barber's  Hist,  and  Antiq.  of  New  Haven, 
p.  38.  Ezekiel  Cheever's  family,  instead  of  being  set  down  there 
as  "  consisting  of  himself  and  his  wife  only,"  included  three  persons 
as  early  as  the  uncertain  date  of  that  document,  probably  1638.  If 
Col.  Lyon  had  consulted  the  baptismal  record,  he  would  have  seen 
that  Ezekiel  had  a  numerous  family  without  a  "  second  wife."  The 
second  baptism  in  the  record,  is  that  of  "  Samuel  Cheevers,  the  son 
of  Ezekiel  Cheevers,"  "  the  17th  of  the  9th  month,"  1639.  Mary 
his  daughter  was  baptized  29th  of  Nov.  1640.  His  son  Ezekiel  was 
baptized  the  12th  of  June,  1642.  Another  daughter,  Elizabeth,  was 
baptized  the  6th  of  April,  1645.  "  Sarah  Cheever,"  probably  another 
daughter  of  his,  was  baptized  21st  September,  1646.  "Hannah 
Cheever/'  25th  of  June,  1648. 

Pres.  Stiles  in  his  Literary  Diary,  25th  April,  1772,  mentions 
seeing  "  the  Rev.  and  aged  Mr.  Samuel  Maxwell  of  Warren,"  R.  I., 
and  adds,  "  He  told  me  he  well  knew  the  famous  Grammar  school- 
master, Mr.  Ezekier  Cheever  of  Boston,  author  of  the  Accidence  ; 
that  he  wore  a  long,  white  beard,  terminating  in  a  point ;  that  when 
he  stroked  his  beard  to  the  point,  it  was  a  sign  to  the  boys  to  stand 
clear."  "  In  Mr.  Maxwell,  I  have  seen  a  man  who  had  been  ac- 
quainted with  one  of  the  original  and  first  settlers  of  New  England. 
Now  a  rarity !" 

Afterwards,  in  1774,  July  14th,  Dr.  Stiles  mentions  reading  Dr. 
Mather's  sermon  on  the  death  of  Cheever ;  and  having  noted  down 
several  dates  from  the  sermon,  he  adds,  "  He  was  a  pious  and  learned 
divine  as  well  as  preceptor.  He  wore  his  beard  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  He  very  much  formed  and  established  the  New  England 
pronunciation  of  Latin  and  Greek.  He  printed  an  English  Acci- 
dence, still  in  use.  The  hair  of  his  head  and  beard  were  white  as 
snow.  '  He  died,  leaning  like  old  Jacob  upon  a  staff;  the  sacrifice 


321 

and  the  righteousness  of  a  glorious  Christ,  he  let  us  know,  was  the 
staff  which  he  leaned  upon.'  I  have  seen  those  who  knew  the  ven- 
erable saint,  particularly  Rev.  John  Barnard  of  Marblehead,  who  was 
fitted  for  college  by  Mr.  Cheever,  and  entered  1698.  It  is  said  that  if 
he  stroked  his  beard  upon  his  boys  doing  ill,  it  was  a  certain  sign  of 
severity." 

Besides  his  Accidence,  Cheever  published  a  book  on  the  millen- 
nium. Allen,  Biog.  Diet. 

The  following  petition,  copied  from  the  Hutchinson  papers  in  the 
library  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  is  published  in 
"Prize  Book,  No.  IV,  of  the  Public  Latin  School  in  Boston,"  1823. 

To  his  Excellency,  Sir  Edmund  Andross,  Knight ,  Governor  and 
Captain  General  of  his  Majesty's  territories  and  dominions  in 
New  England, 

"  The  humble  petition  of  Ezekiel  Cheever  of  Boston,  schoolmas- 
ter, sheweth  that  your  poor  petitioner  hath  near  fifty  years  been  em- 
ployed in  the  work  and  office  of  a  public  Grammar-schoolmaster  in 
several  places  in  this  country.  With  what  acceptance  and  success, 
I  submit  to  the  judgment  of  those  that  are  able  to  testify.  Now  see- 
ing God  is  pleased  mercifully  yet  to  continue  my  wonted  abilities  of 
mind,  health  of  body,  vivacity  of  spirit,  delight  in  my  work,  which 
alone  I  am  any  way  fit  for  and  capable  of,  and  whereby  I  have  my 
outward  subsistence, — I  most  humbly  entreat  your  Excellency,  that 
according  to  your  former  kindness  so  often  manifested,  I  may  by 
your  Excellency's  favor,  allowance  and  encouragement,  still  be  con- 
tinued in  my  present  place.  And  whereas  there  is  due  to  me  about 
fifty-five  pounds  for  my  labors  past,  and  the  former  way  of  that  part 
of  my  maintenance  is  thought  good  to  be  altered, — I  with  all  sub- 
mission beseech  your  Excellency,  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  give 
order  for  my  due  satisfaction,  the  want  of  which  would  fall  heavy 
upon  me  in  my  old  age,  and  my  children  also,  who  are  otherwise 
poor  enough.  And  your  poor  petitioner  shall  ever  pray,  &c. 
"  Your  Excellency's  most  humble  servant, 

"  EZEKIEL  CHEEVER." 

At  New  Haven,  Ezekiel  Cheever  was  not  so  confined  to  his  du- 
ties in  the  school  as  to  be  excluded  from  other  honorable  employ- 
ments.    In  October,  1646,  he  was  one  of  the  deputies  from  New 
Haven  to  the  General  Court  for  the  jurisdiction.     He  was  also  a 
41 


322 

preacher ;  for  I  find  that  in  May,  1647,  among  other  "  gross  miscar- 
riages" charged  upon  one  "  Richard  Smoolt,  servant  to  Mrs.  Tur- 
ner," for  the  aggregate  of  which  he  was  "  severely  whipped," — was 
his  "scoffing  at  the  word  of  God  which  was  preached  by  Mr. 
Cheevers." 

I  have  not  seen  Mather's  sermon  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Cheever. 
Of  the  two  specimens  that  follow  from  the  poetical  "  Essay,"  I  find 
the  first  in  Allen,  and  the  last  in  the  notice  published  among  the 
Historical  Collections. 

•'<  A  mighty  tribe  of  well  instructed  youth 
Tell  what  they  owe  to  him,  and  tell  with  truth. 
All  the  eight  parts  of  speech,  he  taught  to  them, 
They  now  employ  to  trumpet  his  esteem. 
Magister  pleas'd  them  well  because  'twas  he  ; 
They  say  that  bonus  did  with  it  agree. 
While  they  said  amo,  they  the  hint  improve 
Him  for  to  make  the  object  of  their  love. 
No  concord  so  inviolate  they  knew 
As  to  pay  honors  to  their  master  due. 
With  interjections  they  break  orF  at  last, 
But  ah  is  all  they  use,  wo,  and  alas .'" 


'  He  lived  and  to  vast  age  no  illness  knew ; 
Till  Time's  scythe,  waiting  for  him,  rusty  grew. 
He  lived  and  wrought ;  his  labors  were  immense  ; 
But  ne'er  declined  to  preterperfect  tense." 


323 


No.  VI. 

JOHN    WINTHROP,    OF    CONNECTICUT. 

I  ASK  pardon,  not  of  the  reader,  but  of  the  author,  for  transferring 
to  these  pages  Mr.  Bancroft's  admirable  picture  of  the  younger  Win- 
throp. 

"  In  the  younger  Winthrop,  the  qualities  of  human  excellence 
were  mingled  in  such  happy  proportions,  that,  while  he  always  wore 
an  air  of  contentment,  no  enterprise  in  which  he  engaged  seemed 
too  lofty  for  his  powers.  Even  as  a  child,  he  had  been  the  pride  of 
his  father's  house  ;  he  had  received  the  best  instruction  which  Cam- 
bridge and  Dublin  could  afford  ;  and  had  perfected  his  education  by 
visiting,  in  part  at  least,  in  the  public  service,  not  Holland  and 
France  only,  in  the  days  of  Prince  Maurice  and  Richelieu,  but  Ven- 
ice and  Constantinople.  From  boyhood  his  manners  had  been  spot- 
less ;  and  the  purity  of  his  soul  added  luster  and  beauty  to  the  gifts 
of  nature  and  industry ;  as  he  traveled  through  Europe,  he  sought 
the  society  of  men  eminent  for  learning.  Returning  to  England  in 
the  bloom  of  life,  with  every  promise  of  preferment  which  genius, 
gentleness  of  temper,  and  influence  at  court,  could  inspire,  he  pre- 
ferred to  follow  his  father  to  the  new  world ;  regarding  '  diversities 
of  countries  but  as  so  many  inns,'  alike  conducting  to  '  the  jour- 
ney's end.'  When  his  father,  the  father  of  Massachusetts,  became 
impoverished  by  his  expenses  in  planting  the  colony,  the  pious  son, 
unsolicited  and  without  recompense,  relinquished  his  large  inherit- 
ance, that  '  it  might  be  spent  in  furthering  the  great  work'  in  Mas- 
sachusetts; himself,  single-handed  and  without  wealth,  engaging 
in  the  enterprise  of  planting  Connecticut.  Care  for  posterity  seemed 
the  motive  to  his  actions.  His  vast  and  elevated  mind  had,  more- 
over, that  largeness,  that  he  respected  learning,  and  virtue,  and  ge- 
nius, in  whatever  sect  they  might  be  found.  No  narrow  bigotry  lim- 
ited his  affections  or  his  esteem  ;  and  when  Quakers  had  become  the 
objects  of  persecution,  he  was  earnest  and  unremitting  in  argument 
and  entreaty,  to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood.  Master  over  his  own 
mind,  he  never  regretted  the  brilliant  prospects  he  had  resigned,  nor 
complained  of  the  comparative  solitude  of  New  London;  a  large  li- 
brary furnished  employment  to  his  mind ;  the  study  of  nature,  accor- 
ding to  the  principles  of  the  philosophy  of  Bacon,  was  his  delight;  for 
'  he  had  a  gift  in  understanding  and  art;'  and  his  home  was  endeared 


324 

by  a  happy  marriage,  and  '  many  sweet  children.'  His  knowledge  of 
human  nature  was  as  remarkable  as  his  virtues.  He  never  attempted 
impracticable  things  ;  but,  understanding  the  springs  of  action,  and 
the  principles  that  control  affairs,  he  calmly  and  noiselessly  succeeded 
in  all  that  he  undertook.  The  new  world  was  full  of  his  praises ; 
Puritans,  and  Quakers,  and  the  freemen  of  Rhode  Island,  were  alike 
his  eulogists ;  the  Dutch  at  New  York,  not  less  than  all  New  Eng- 
land, had  confidence  in  his  integrity  ;  Clarendon  and  Milton,  New- 
ton and  Robert  Boyle,  became  his  correspondents.  If  he  had  faults, 
they  are  forgotten.  In  history  he  appears,  by  unanimous  testimony, 
from  early  life,  without  a  blemish ;  and  it  is  the  beautiful  testimony 
of  his  own  father,  that  '  God  gave  him  favor  in  the-  eyes  of  all  with 
whom  he  had  to  do.'  In  his  interview  with  Charles  II.,  there  is  rea- 
son to  believe,  he  was  able  to  inspire  that  naturally  benevolent  mon- 
arch with  curiosity  ;  perhaps  he  amused  him  with  accounts  of  In- 
dian warfare,  and  descriptions  of  the  marvels  of  a  virgin  world.  A 
favorable  recollection  of  Charles  I.,  who  had  been  a  friend  to  his 
father's  father,  and  who  gave  to  his  family  an  hereditary  claim  on 
the  Stuarts,  was  effectually  revived.  His  personal  merits,  sympathy 
for  his  family,  his  exertions,  the  petition  of  the  colony,  and,  as  I  be- 
lieve, the  real  good  will  of  Clarendon, — for  we  must  not  reject  all 
faith  in  generous  feeling, — easily  prevailed  to  obtain  for  Connecti- 
cut an  ample  patent.  The  courtiers  of  King  Charles,  who  themselves 
had  an  eye  to  possessions  in  America,  suggested  no  limitations  ; 
and  perhaps  it  was  believed,  that  Connecticut  would  serve  to  bal- 
ance the  power  of  Massachusetts. 

"The  charter,  disregarding  the  hesitancy  of  New  Haven,  the 
rights  of  the  colony  of  New  Belgium,  and  the  claims  of  Spain  on 
the  Pacific,  connected  New  Haven  with  Hartford  in  one  colony,  of 
which  the  limits  were  extended  from  the  Narragansett  River  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  How  strange  is  the  connection  of  events  !  Win- 
throp  not  only  secured  to  his  state  a  peaceful  century  of  colonial  ex- 
istence, but  prepared  the  claim  for  western  lands.  Under  his  wise 
direction,  the  careless  benevolence  of  Charles  II.  provided  in  ad- 
vance the  school  fund  of  Connecticut. 

"  With  regard  to  powers  of  government,  the  charter  was  still  more 
extraordinary.  It  conferred  on  the  colonists  unqualified  power  to 
govern  themselves.  They  were  allowed  to  elect  all  their  own  offi- 
cers, to  enact  their  own  laws,  to  administer  justice  without  appeals 
to  England,  to  inflict  punishments,  to  confer  pardons,  and  in  a  word, 
to  exercise  every  power,  deliberative  and  active.  The  king,  far 


325 

from  reserving  a  negative  on  the  acts  of  the  colony,  did  not  even  re- 
quire that  the  laws  should  be  transmitted  for  his  inspection ;  and  no 
provision  was  made  for  the  interference  of  the  English  government 
in  any  event  whatever.  Connecticut  was  independent  except  in 
name.  Charles  II.  and  Clarendon  thought  they  had  created  a  close 
corporation,  and  they  had  really  sanctioned  a  democracy.  To  the 
younger  Winthrop,  probably  because  he  had  preserved  a  loyal  spirit 
in  Connecticut,  Charles  II.  had  written,  '  the  world  shall  take  no- 
tice of  the  sense  I  have  of  your  kindness,  and  how  great  an  instru- 
ment you  have  been  in  promoting  the  happiness  of  your  country  ;' 
and  the  disinterested  man  asked  favors  only  for  the  community  of 
which  he  was  a  member. 

"  After  his  successful  negotiations,  and  efficient  concert  in  found- 
ing the  Royal  Society,  Winthrop  returned  to  America,  bringing  with 
him  a  name  which  England  honored,  and  which  his  country  should 
never  forget,  and  resumed  his  tranquil  life  in  rural  retirement.  The 
amalgamation  of  the  two  colonies  could  not  be  effected  without  col- 
lision ;  and  New  Haven  had  been  unwilling  to  merge  itself  in  the 
larger  colony ;  the  wise  moderation  of  Winthrop  was  able  to  recon- 
cile the  jar  rings,  and  blend  the  interests  of  the  united  colonies.  The 
universal  approbation  of  Connecticut  followed  him  throughout  all 
the  remainder  of  his  life ;  for  twice  seven  years  he  continued  to  be 
annually  elected  to  the  office  of  her  chief  magistrate." 

Governor  Winthrop's  first  and  principal  residence  in  Connecticut, 
was  at  Pequot,  afterwards  called  New  London.  Great  efforts  were 
made  by  Mr.  Davenport  and  Gov.  Eaton,  to  induce  him  to  fix  his 
residence  in  New  Haven.  In  October,  1654,  the  General  Court  of 
the  colony  requested  the  Governor  to  write  to  Mr.  Winthrop  in  the 
name  of  the  Court,  "  inviting  him  to  come  and  live  at  New  Haven  if 
he  do  remove  from  Pequot."  For  a  year  or  more,  soon  afterwards,  he 
resided  here,  in  the  house  which  had  been  Capt.  Malbon's,  on  the 
west  side  of  State  street,  near  where  it  is  now  intersected  by  Court 
street.  The  town  bought  that  house  for  his  accommodation,  offering 
it  to  him  as  a  gratuity.  He  refused  to  come  under  any  such  obliga- 
tion as  would  be  imposed  by  his  acceptance  of  such  a  gift.  Ac- 
cordingly he  bought  of  the  town  the  house  and  lot,  "  with  all  the  ac- 
commodations belonging  thereto,"*  for  <£100,  to  be  paid  according 
to  the  tenor  of  the  following  engagement. 

*  As  illustrating  the  value  of  real  estate  in  New  Haven  at  that  time,  it  is 
worth  while  to  observe  how  much  was  sold  for  £100.  The  house  was  one 
of  the  best  in  the  town,  distinguished  as  it  was  for  "  fair  and  stately  houses." 


326 

"  These  are  to  testify  that  I  do  owe  and  am  indebted  to  the  towns- 
men of  New  Haven,  selected  by  the  said  town  for  the  carrying  on 
the  prudential  affairs  of  the  same,  the  full  sum  of  one  hundred 
pounds  for  the  house  wherein  I  now  live  with  the  lands  to  it,  to  be 
paid  in  goats,  the  one  half  at  any  time  between  this  or  October  next, 
upon  Fisher's  Island,  whensoever  they  shall  send  a  vessel  to  demand 
and  carry  away  the  same,  and  the  other  half  the  next  summer  at  the 
same  place,  when  they  shall  likewise  send  a  vessel  to  demand  and 
fetch  them  away,  any  time  before  that  winter,  to  be  delivered  by  my 
servants  there.  Witness  my  hand  :  July  7th,  1657. 

"  JOHN  WINTHROP. 

"  Witness,  FRANCIS  NEWMAN." 

Mr.  Winthrop  appears  not  have  resided  here  longer  than  two 
years.  The  house  was  bought  back  by  the  town  in  1659 ;  and  the 
use  of  it  was  given  to  Gov.  Newman  for  his  lifetime,  and  that  of  his 
wife  if  she  should  survive  him. 

One  reason  for  the  great  zeal  of  the  town  to  induce  Mr.  Winthrop 
to  reside  here,  was  his  medical  knowledge  and  skill.  See  Prof. 
Knight's  Introductory  Lecture ;  which  contains  the  history  of  the 
medical  profession  in  New  Haven.* 

The  lot  extended  in  front  about  fourteen  rods,  as  measured  on  Col.  Lyon's 
map,  and  in  depth  half  way  to  Church  street.  Beside  the  house  and  lot, 
there  was  the  housing  upon  it,"  (which  must  have  included  stable,  &c.,) 
and  "  all  the  accommodations  belonging  thereunto,  which  in  the  book  where 
men's  accommodations  are  entered,  appear  to  be  thirty  five  acres  of  the  first 
division  within  the  two  miles,  and  six  and  twenty  rods ;  thirty  four  acres  of 
meadow,  and  a  half;  one  hundred  and  seventy  eight  acres  of  the  second  divi- 
sion ;  and  twenty  acres  and  a  quarter,  sixteen  rods,  in  the  Neck." 

*  Mr.  Thomas  Pell,  who  in  Dr.  Knight's  Lecture  is  mentioned  as  probably 
a  physician,  and  as  going  away  in  1650,  was  surgeon  to  the  Saybrook  Fort, 
under  Lyon  Gardner,  in  1636,  and  was  sent  in  that  capacity  with  Capt.  Un- 
derbill to  the  Pequot  war  in  1637.  (Ill,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Ill,  149.)  His 
first  appearance  on  the  New  Haven  records  is  in  Sept.  1642 ;  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  he  was  at  that  time  residing  here.  His  name  is  not  among  the 
freemen  or  the  planters,  or  among  those  who  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the 
jurisdiction.  In  1647,  he  appears  again,  and  soon  after  married  the  widow 
of  Francis  Brewster,  a  lady  who  was  rather  an  untoward  subject  of  the  juris- 
diction. After  considerable  difficulty  about  the  payment  of  a  fine  which  had 
been  imposed  upon  his  wife  before  the  marriage,  and  for  which  the  court 
held  him  responsible  after  the  marriage,  he  was  called  upon  to  take  the  oath 
of  fidelity,  which  he  refused  to  do.  His  going  away  was  a  few  months  after- 
wards. He  seems  to  have  removed  from  this  place  to  Fairfield.  His  wife 
and  her  daughters  were  witnesses  in  the  case  of  Slaplies  against  Ludlow. 
See  Kingsley,  101. 


327 

No.  VII. 
EDWARD  TENCH'S  WILL  AND  INVENTORY. 

THE  records  in  the  Probate  office  begin  in  the  year  1647.  But  in 
the  town  clerk's  office  I  find  a  solitary  record  of  a  will  and  invento- 
ry, dated — before  New  Haven  had  an  English  name — in  Feb.  1639- 
40*  The  manner  and  provisions  of  the  will,  as  well  as  its  being 
probably  the  first  will  ever  written  in  New  Haven,  make  it  worth 
publishing.  I  subjoin  to  the  will,  the  first  part  of  the  inventory, 
which  exhibits  the  titles  of  all  the  books  which  made  up  the  library 
of  one  of  the  planters  of  New  Haven. 

The  record  is  somewhat  mutilated  by  time.  The  reader  will  see 
that  the  hiatus  is  filled  up  with  such  words  as  seem  to  be  demanded 
by  the  context. 

"  I,  Edward  Tench,  planter  in  Quinnypiocke,  being  at  present 
weak  in  body,  but  of  perfect  memory,  and  having  my  dear  wife,  Sa- 
rah Tench,  lying  in  the  house  with  me,  dangerously  sick,  and  near 
to  death  by  a  consumption,  so  that  in  the  judgment  of  man,  she 
draweth  near  her  change ;  do  make  and  ordain  this  my  last  will 
and  testament,  in  manner  and  form  following.  First,  I  commit  my 
spirit,  &c. — and  my  body  to  be  buried  in  a  comely  and  decent  man- 
ner, according  to  the  course  of  this  place  ; — and  my  debts  first  paid, 
funeral  expenses  discharged,  and  certain  small  legacies,  part  of 
which  are  given  by  my  wife,  and  by  me  now  confirmed,  and  part  by 
myself  now  added,  all  contained  in  a  note  and  schedule  hereunto 
annexed,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  forenamed  dear  wife,  the  one 
half  of  the  remainder  of  my  whole  estate,  whether  it  be  here  or  in 
old  England,  if  God  please  to  recover  her  and  preserve  her  life. 
The  other  half  of  my  estate,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  only  son, 
Nathaniel  Tench,  now  about  five  years  of  age,  desiring  my  said 
wife,  to  whom  I  commit  him,  if  God  spares  her  life,  to  be  careful  in 
his  education,  and  to  improve  his  portion  for  him,  till  he  attain  the 
full  age  of  one  and  twenty  years.  But  if  it  shall  please  God,  by 
death,  to  take  away  my  dear  wife  before  me,  it  is  my  will  and  mind, 
and  I  freely  give  and  bequeath  to  my  forenamed  son,  Nathaniel 
Tench,  my  whole  estate ;  my  debts  and  former  legacies  being  first 
paid,  and  funerals  discharged ;  and  of  this  my  last  Will  and  Testa- 


328 

ment,  I  make  my  said  son,  Nathaniel  Tench,  the  [executor.  Andj 
in  case  my  said  wife  should  die  before  [me,  I  do  entrust  and  com- 
mit] my  son,  both  for  his  education,  and  for  the  ordering  and  im- 
proving his  portion  and  estate,  till  he  attain  and  accomplish  the 
full  age  of  one  and  twenty  years,  to  the  wisdom  and  care  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  gathered  and  settled  at  Quinnypiocke,  whereunto 
Mr.  Davenport  is  pastor ;  upon  whose  love  and  faithfulness,  in  ac- 
cepting and  managing  this  my  desire,  I  quietly  rest,  with  assurance 
and  satisfaction  to  my  spirit.  So  that  if  my  wife  should  die,  and 
her  sister  come  over  into  these  parts,  and  should  desire  to  take  my 
son  back  into  old  England,  yet  my  express  will  and  mind  is,  that  he 
return  not,  but  continue  with  and  be  brought  up  by  the  forenamed 
Church  of  Christ.  And  lastly,  if  it  please  God  by  death  to  take  my 
son  out  of  this  world  before  he  has  attained  the  full  age  of  one  and 
twenty  years ;  then  my  will  is,  and  I  do  hereby  give  and  bequeath 
the  one  half  of  my  estate  to  the  treasury  of  the  Church,  to  whose 
care  T  have  entrusted  my  son,  to  be  by  them  disposed  of  as  they 
shall  see  good.  And  the  other  half  of  my  estate,  I  hereby  give  and 
bequeath  to  my  brother  Francis  Tench,  and  to  his  children.  And  I 
hereby  revoke  all  former  wills,  testaments  and  devises  by  me  here- 
tofore made.  And  do  order,  declare,  and  appoint  that  this  and  no 
other,  nor  otherwise,  shall  be,  and  remain  in  force,  as  my  last  will 
and  testament. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  subscribed  my  name,  this 
13th  day  of  February,  1639  [1640.]  EDWARD  TENCH. 

"  In  the  presence  of  us,  Henry  Browning,  Wm.  James,  Thos. 
Fugill." 

"  The  inventory  of  all  the  goods  and  chattels  of  Edward  Tench 
deceased,  late  planter  of  Quinnypiocke,  taken  by  Thorn.  Gregson, 
Robert  Newman,  and  Matthew  Gilbert,  the  19th  Feb.  1639. 

£  s.    d. 

2  Books  of  Martyrs,      -   ,  .^      -        -        -  3  00  00 

Calvin  on  Job,      •     .,.;,,.*        w        -  600 

1  Concordance,    -        *  .,   -  •     -        -        -  15  00 

The  Country  Justice, 3  00 

Dodd  on  the  Commandments,         ...  3  00 

1  BookofGreenham's  Woiks,        -        -        -  1000 

1  Geneva  Bible  with  Notes,    -        -         -        -  10  00 

1  Bible,  Roman  letter,            -        -        -        -  15  00 


329 

£   s.    d. 

3  small  Bibles, 18  00 

Perkins  on  the  Galatians,       ....  3  00 

Symons  on  the  deserted  soul,          ...  26 

Perkins'  Principles,        .....  5  00 

Bell  on  Faith, 4  00 

Burrough  Book,             -        -        .         -        -  16 

The  Expert  Midwife,    .....  16 

Markham's  Husbandry,          ....  3  00 

Byfield's  Marrow  of  the  Oracles,     ...  2  00 

Perkins'  How  to  live  well,      ....  2  00 

1  old  book,  Dodd  on  the  Commandments,        -  1  00 

The  plain  man's  pathway  to  Heaven,      -  1  00 

Government  of  cattle,    -  2  00 

Watcher's  Remembrance,      ....  l  00 

The  Saints'  Cordials,    .....  6 

Sibbs'  Canticles, 46 

On  Hosea, 46 

Light  from  Heaven,       -  '•'•'. »•:".•'•  v  .;:"*        -  48 

5  books  of  Dr.  Sibbs,    -  ; -^Vr*  .  U-        -  3    6 

Excellency  of  the  Gospel,       -   -    •  . "   »        -  200 

Promises,     -        -        -   •     •  •"   -        -  16 

Comforts,      .......  13 

Christ's  Exaltation,        .....  i  00 

Hidden  Secrets,    -----_  IQO 

Dr.  Preston's  new  covenant,            ...  66 

second  volume,      T'4'V,.        .  66 

third  volume,             ...  66 

The  Soul's  Conflict, 3  00 

Mr.  Culverwell's  Treatise  of  Faith,         -        -  2  00 

Attributes,             -        --        .        _        _  36 

Goodwin's  Works,         -        -        ...  5  00 

Dyke  on  the  Sacraments,       ....  3  00 


Saints'  Legacies,  - 
Mark's  Salutations, 
Sibbs'  Philippians, 
Delights  with  Closets, 
Mr.  Caples'  book, 
Charitable  Physician, 


00 
00 
00 
00 
2 
00 


1  small  Bible,        --....          5  00" 
The  entire  inventory  amounted  to  ,£409  3s.  6d. 

42 


330 
No.  VIII. 

TREATMENT    OF   THE    INDIANS. 

THERE  are  two  sorts  of  people  who  habitually  represent  the  New 
England  fathers  as  having  treated  the  Indians  with  great  injustice. 

First,  we  have  the  sentimentalists,  to  whom  the  Indian  is  an  ob- 
ject of  poetic  interest.  They  feel  that  the  wigwam  by  a  waterfall 
was  a  far  more  romantic  sight  than  a  five  story  cotton  mill  on  the  same 
spot.  They  would  rather  see  upon  the  Connecticut  a  rude  canoe  dug 
out  of  a  log,  by  painful  blows  of  a  stone  hatchet,  than  the  most  majes- 
tic steamboat.  And  to  their  mind's  eye  a  "feather-cinctured  chief," 
like  Sassacus,  is  a  much  more  imposing  figure  than  Roger  Sherman 
or  Oliver  Ellsworth.  The  melancholy  fate  of  the  wild  tribes,  disap- 
pearing with  the  forests  they  once  inhabited,  and  leaving  the  graves 
of  their  fathers  to  be  turned  up  by  the  white  man's  ploughshare, 
affects  these  sentimental  readers  or  makers  of  poetry  so  deeply,  that 
they  cannot  but  take  it  for  granted  that  the  poor  Indian  was  the  vic- 
tim of  Puritan  oppression. 

Secondly,  we  have  those  who  think  to  silence  all  remonstrance 
and  argument  against  some  recent  proceedings  in  respect  to  the  In- 
dians, by  asking,  Where  are  the  Indians  of  New  England  ;  and  who 
have  apolitical  interest  to  maintain  by  making  themselves  and  others 
believe  that  there  is  no  precedent,  and  therefore  no  warrant  for  jus- 
tice in  dealing  with  the  native  proprietors  of  the  soil. 

I  am  very  far  from  intimating  that  there  were  no  particular  in- 
stances of  wrong  on  the  part  of  white  men  in  New  England  towards 
the  aboriginal  inhabitants ;  or  that  the  colonial  governments  did  not 
sometimes  err  through  fear  or  indignation,  in  their  judgment  of  what 
was  right,  especially  in  times  of  war.  But  there  is  no  hazard  in  as- 
serting, that  the  general  course  of  the  policy  adopted  by  our  fathers 
in  respect  to  the  Indians,  was  characterized  by  justice  and  by  kind- 
ness. The  right  of  the  Indians  to  the  soil  was  admitted  and  re- 
spected. Patents  and  charters  from  the  king  were  never  considered 
good  against  the  rights  of  the  natives.  Let  any  man  demonstrate  if 
he  can,  that  in  Connecticut  a  single  rood  of  land  was  ever  acquired 
of  the  Indians  otherwise  than  by  fair  purchase,  except  what  was  con- 
quered from  the  Pequots,  in  a  war  as  righteous  as  ever  was  waged. 


331 

How  the  Indians  were  treated  by  the  planters  of  the  New  Haven 
colony,  appears  on  the  face  of  the  records,  of  which  I  propose  to  give 
some  specimens,  introducing  first  one  passage  from  Winthrop,  (II, 
62,)  which  belongs  to  the  history  of  New  Haven. 

"It  is  observable,"  says  Winthrop  in  March,  1642,  "how  the 
Lord  doth  honor  his  people  and  justify  their  ways  even  before  the 
heathen,  when  their  proceedings  are  true  and  just,  as  appears  by 
this  instance.  Those  at  New  Haven,  intending  a  plantation  at  Del- 
aware, sent  some  men  to  purchase  a  large  portion  of  land  of  the  In- 
dians there,  but  they  refused  to  deal  with  them.  It  so  fell  out,  that 
a  Pequot  sachem  (being  fled  his  country  in  our  war  with  them,  and 
having  seated  himself  with  his  company  upon  that  river  ever  since) 
was  accidentally  there  at  that  time.  He,  taking  notice  of  the  En- 
glish and  their  desire,  persuaded  the  other  sachem  to  deal  with  them, 
and  told  him,  that  howsoever  they  had  killed  his  countrymen  and 
driven  them  out,  yet  they  were  honest  men,  and  had  just  cause  to 
do  as  they  did,  for  the  Pequots  had  done  them  wrong,  and  refused 
to  give  such  reasonable  satisfaction  as  was  demanded  of  them. 
Whereupon  the  sachem  entertained  them,  and  let  them  have  what 
land  they  desired." 

The  most  ancient  record  in  existence  at  New  Haven  is,  as  it 
ought  to  be,  the  record  of  two  treaties  with  the  aboriginal  propri- 
etors,— by  which  the  soil  was  purchased,  and  the  relations  thence- 
forward to  subsist  between  the  Indians  and  the  English,  were  dis- 
tinctly defined.  The  substance  of  these  treaties  is  given  by  Trum- 
bull,  (I,  68,)  but  to  many  readers,  an  original  document  has  an  in- 
terest and  a  value  far  above  the  most  perfect  abstract.  I  therefore 
give  these  documents,  though  one  is  a  little  mutilated. 

"Articles  of  agreement  between  Theophilus  Eaton  and  John 
Davenport  -and  others,  English  planters  at  CJuinopiocke,  on  the  one 
party,  and  Momaugin  the  Indian  sachem  of  Q,uinopiocke,  and  Sug- 
cogisin,  Quesaquauch,  Caroughood,  Wesaucucke,  and  others  of 
his  council  on  the  other  party, — made  and  concluded,  the  24th  of 
November,  1638,  Thomas  Stanton  being  interpreter, 

"First,  That  he,  the  said  sachem,  his  council  and  company,  do 
jointly  profess,  affirm  and  covenant,  that  the  said  Momaugin  is  the 
sole  sachem  of  Q,uinopiocke,  and  hath  an  absolute  and  independent 
power  to  give,  alien,  dispose  or  sell  all  or  any  part  of  the  lands  in 
Quinoplbcke ;  and  that  though  he  have  a  son  now  absent,  yet  neither 
his  said  son,  nor  any  other  person  whatsoever,  hath  any  right,  title 


332 

or  interest  in  any  part  of  the  said  lands,  so  that  whatsoever  he  the 
forenamed  sachem,  his  council,  and  the  rest  of  the  Indians  present, 
do  and  conclude,  shall  stand  firm  and  inviolable  against  all  claims 
and  persons,  whatsoever. 

"  Secondly,  The  said  sachem,  his  council  and  company,  (among 
which  there  was  a  squaw  sachem,  called  Shampishuh,  sister  to  the 
sachem,  who  either  had  or  pretended  some  interest  in  some  part  of 
the  land,)  remembering  and  acknowledging  the  heavy  taxes  and 
imminent  dangers  which  they  lately  felt  and  feared  from  the  Pequots, 
Mohawks  and  other  Indians,  in  regard  of  which  they  durst  not  stay 
in  their  country,  but  were  forced  to  flee,  and  seek  shelter  among  the 
English  at  Connecticut;  and  observing  the  safety  and  ease  that 
other  Indians  enjoy  near  the  English,  of  which  benefits  they  have  had 
a  comfortable  taste  already,  since  the  English  began  to  build  and 
plant  at  Quinopiocke,  which  with  all  thankfulness  they  now  ac- 
knowledged ;  they  jointly  and  severally  gave  and  yielded  up  all  right, 
title  and  interest  to  all  the  land,  rivers  and  ponds,  trees,  with  all  the 
liberties  and  appurtenances  belonging  to  the  same,  in  Quinopiocke, 
to  the  utmost  of  their  bounds,  east,  west,  north,  south,  unto  The- 
ophilus  Eaton,  John  Davenport  and  others,  the  present  English  plan- 
ters there,  and  to  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  desiring  from  the 
said  English  planters,  to  receive  such  a  portion  of  ground  on  the 
east  side  of  the  harbor,  towards  the  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of 
Connecticut,  as  might  be  sufficient  for  them,  being  but  few  in  num- 
ber, to  plant  in:  and  yet,  within  these  limits  to  be  hereafter  assigned 
to  them,  they  did  covenant  and  freely  yield  up  unto  the  said  English, 
all  the  meadow  ground  lying  therein,  with  full  liberty  to  choose  and 
cut  down  what  timber  they  please  for  any  use  whatsoever,  without 
any  question,  license,  or  consent  to  be  asked  from  them,  the  said 
Indians;  and  if  after  their  portion  and  place  be  limited,  and  set  out 
by  the  English  as  above,  they  the  said  Indians,  shall  desire  to  re- 
move to  any  other  place  within  Quinopiocke  bounds,  but  without  the 
limits  assigned  them,  that  they  do  it  not  without  leave,  neither  set- 
ting up  any  wigwam,  nor  breaking  up  any  ground  to  plant  corn,  till 
first  it  be  set  out  and  appointed  by  the  forenamed  English  planters 
for  them. 

"  Thirdly,  The  said  sachem  and  his  council  and  company,  desir- 
ing liberty  to  hunt  and  fish,  within  the  bounds  of  Quinopiocke,  now 
given  and  granted  to  the  English,  as  before,  do  [hereby]  jointly  cov- 
enant and  bind  themselves  to  set  no  traps  near  any  place  where  the 


333 

*         *         *         *         whether  horses,  oxen,  kine,  calves,  sheep, 

goats,  hogs  or  any  such  ****** 

*  ******** 

any  fish  out  of  any  wear  belonging  to  any  English,  nor  to  do  any 
thing  near  any  such  wear  so  as  to  *  *  or  affright  away  any  fish  to 
the  prejudice  of  such  wear  or  wears;  and  that  upon  discovery  of  any 
inconveniency  growing  to  the  English  by  the  Indians  disorderly 
hunting,  their  hunting  shall  be  regulated  and  limited  for  the  preven- 
ting of  any  inconvenience,  and  yet  with  as  little  damage  to  the  In- 
dians in  their  hunting  as  may  be. 

"  Fourthly,  The  said  sachem,  his  council  and  company,  do  hereby 
covenant  and  bind  themselves  that  none  of  them  shall  henceforth 
hanker*  about  any  of  the  English  houses  at  anytime  when  the  Eng- 
lish use  to  meet  about  the  public  worship  of  God ;  nor  on  the  Lord's 
day  henceforward  be  seen,  within  the  compass  of  the  English  town, 
bearing  any  burthens  or  offering  to  truck  with  the  English  for  any 
commodity  whatsoever;  and  that  none  of  them  henceforward  with- 
out leave,  open  any  latch  belonging  to  any  Englishman's  door,  nor 
stay  in  any  English  house  after  warning  that  he  should  leave  the 
same,  nor  do  any  violence,  wrong  or  injury  to  the  persons  of  the  Eng- 
lish, whether  man,  woman,  or  child,  upon  any  pretence  whatsoever ; 
and  if  the  English  of  this  plantation,  by  themselves  or  cattle,  do  any 
wrong  or  damage  to  the  Indians,  upon  complaint,  just  recompense 

*  The  word  hanker  is  used  here  in  a  sense  not  set  down  by  Webster.  In 
England,  it  is  still  used,  colloquially,  with  the  same  meaning.  Richardson 
gives  no  authority  for  such  a  use.  Elsewhere  in  the  records,  the  word  is  used 
in  the  same  sense.  June  7th,  1659,  "  Sam.  Clarke,"  was  brought  before  the 
court  "for  not  attending  the  training,"  and  the  opportunity  was  improved  to 
question  him  touching  some  "  other  miscarriages."  "  The  governor  told  him 
that  he  had  -heard  with  grief  what  he  had  heard  concerning  him,  whereby  it 
appeared  that  he  was  a  lewd  young  man."  It  was  charged  against  him  that 
he  "  goeth  forth"  on  the  evening  after  the  Sabbath,  "  without  the  consent  of 
the  governor  of  the  family,  and  is  found  hankering  about  men's  gates  to  draw 
out  company  to  him.  Sam.  confessed  that  he  did  sometimes  go  out  in  the 
evening  after  the  Sabbath,  but  withal  said  that  he  went  upon  business  when 
he  did  go  forth.  He  was  asked  what  business  he  had  when  he  was  hanker- 
ing at  Roger  Allen's  gate,"  &c. 

This  I  suppose  may  pass  for  a  genuine  piece  of  the  "  blue  laws."  It  may 
therefore  be  proper  to  add  that  on  account  of  the  absence  of  some  "  who 
could  speak  to  the  clearing  of  the  case,"  "  the  whole  business  was  respited 
till  the  next  court ;  and  he  [was]  wished  to  consider  in  the  mean  time  what 
the  Scripture  saith,  'He  that  being  often  reproved,'"  &c.  I  cannot  find 
that  the  business  was  ever  called  up  again. 


334 

shall  be  made  by  the  English ; — and  that  none  of  them  henceforward 
use  or  take  any  Englishman's  boat  or  canoe  of  what  kind  soever, 
from  the  place  where  it  was  fastened  or  laid,  without  leave  from  the 
owner  first  had  and  obtained ;  nor  that  they  come  into  the  English 
town  with  bows  and  arrows,  or  any  other  weapons  whatsoever,  in 
number  above  six  Indians  so  armed  at  a  time. 

Fifthly,  The  said  sachem,  his  council  and  company,  do  truly  cov- 
enant and  bind  themselves,  that  if  any  of  them  shall  hereafter  kill  or 
hurt  any  English  cattle  of  what  sort  soever,  though  casually  or  neg- 
ligently, they  shall  give  full  satisfaction  for  the  loss  or  damage,  as  the 
English  shall  judge  equal ;  but  if  any  of  them,  for  any  respect,  wil- 
fully do  kill  or  hurt  any  of  the  English  cattle,  upon  proof,  they  shall 
pay  the  double  value.  And  if  at  any  time,  any  of  them  find  any  of 
the  English  cattle  straying  or  lost  in  the  woods,  they  shall  bring  them 
back  to  the  English  plantation,  and  a  moderate  price  or  recompense 
shall  be  allowed  for  their  pains;  provided}  if  it  can  be  proved  that 
any  of  them  drove  away  any  of  the  English  cattle,  wheresover  they 
find  them,  farther  from  the  English  plantation  to  make  an  *  *  or 
advantage  or  recompense  for  his  pains  finding  or  bringing  them 
back,  they  shall  in  any  such  case  pay  damages  for  such  dealings. 

"Sixthly,  The  number  of  the  Quinopiocke  Indians,  men,  or 
youths  grown  to  stature  fit  for  service,  being  forty  seven  at  present, 
they  do  covenant  and  bind  themselves  not  to  receive  or  admit  any 
other  Indians  amongst  them  without  leave  first  had  and  obtained 
from  the  English :  and  that  they  will  not  at  any  time  hereafter  en- 
tertain or  harbor  any  that  are  enemies  to  the  English,  but  will  pres- 
ently apprehend  such  and  deliver  them  to  the  English ;  and  if  they 
know  or  hear  of  any  plot  by  the  Indians  or  others  against  the  Eng- 
lish, they  will  forthwith  discover  and  make  the  same  known  to  them, 
and  in  case  they  do  not,  to  be  accounted  as  parties  in  the  plot,  and 
to  be  proceeded  against  as  such. 

"  Lastly,  The  said  sachem,  his  council  and  company,  do  hereby 
promise  truly  and  carefully  to  observe  and  keep  all  and  every  one 
of  these  articles  of  agreement ;  and  if  any  of  them  offend  in  any  of 
the  premises,  they  jointly  hereby  subject  and  submit  such  offender 
or  offenders,  to  the  consideration,  censure  and  punishment  of  the 
English  magistrate,  or  officers  appointed  among  them  for  govern- 
ment, without  expecting  that  the  English  should  first  advise  with 
them  about  it,  yet  in  any  such  case  of  punishment,  if  the  said  sa- 
chem shall  desire  to  know  the  reason  and  equity  of  such  proceedings, 
he  shall  be  informed  of  the  same. 


335 

"The  former  article  being  read  and  interpreted  to  them,  they  by 
way  of  exposition  desired  that  in  the  sixth  article  it  might  be  added, 
That  if  any  of  the  English  cattle  be  killed  or  hurt  casually  or  negli- 
gently, and  proof  be  made  it  was  done  by  some  of  the  Quinopiocke 
Indians,  they  will  make  satisfaction ;  and  if  done  by  any  other  In- 
dians in  their  sight,  if  they  do  not  discover  it  and  (if  able  to)  bring 
the  offender  to  the  English,  they  will  be  accounted  and  dealt  with 
as  guilty. 

"  In  consideration  of  all  which,  they  desire  from  the  English  that 
if  at  any  time  hereafter  they  be  affrighted  in  their  dwellings  assigned 
by  the  English  unto  them  as  before,  they  may  repair  to  the  English 
plantation  for  shelter ;  and  that  the  English  will  there  in  a  just  cause, 
endeavor  to  defend  them  from  wrong.  But  jn  any  quarrel  or  wars 
which  they  shall  undertake  or  have  with  other  Indians  upon  any  oc- 
casion whatsoever,  they  will  manage  their  affairs  by  themselves  with- 
out expecting  any  aid  from  the  English. 

"  And  the  English  planters  before  mentioned,  accepting  and  grant- 
ing according  to  the  tenor  of  the  premises,  do  further  of  their  own 
accord,  by  way  of  free  and  thankful  retribution,  give  unto  the  said 
sachem,  council  and  company  of  the  Quinopiocke  Indians,  twelve 
coats  of  English  trucking  cloth,  twelve  alchemy  spoons,  twelve 
hatchets,  twelve  hoes,  two  dozen  of  knives,  twelve  porringers,  and 
four  cases  of  French  knives  and  scissors.  All  which  being  thank- 
fully accepted  by  the  aforesaid,  and  the  agreements  in  all  points  per- 
fected ;  for  ratification  and  full  confirmation  of  the  same,  the  sa- 
chem, his  council  and  sister,  to  these  presents  have  set  to  their  hands 
or  marks,  the  day  and  year  above  written. 

"  MOMAUGIN,  —  his  mark. 

"  SUGCOGISIN,  —  his  mark. 

"  QUESAQUAUSH,  —  his  mark. 

"  CARROUGHOOD,  —  his  mark. 

"  WEESAUCUCK,  —  his  mark. 

"  SHAUMPISHUH,  —  her  mark.* 

*  Copies  of  these  Indian  marks  may  be  seen  in  Barber's  Hist,  and  Antiq.  of 
New  Haven, 27.  The  first  is  a  rude  resemblance  of  a  bow;  the  second  of 
a  fish-hook.  The  third  is  a  horizontal  line,  neither  straight  nor  of  any  curve 
known  to  the  mathematicians.  The  fourth  is  a  small  blot.  The  fifth  may  be 
imagined  to  stand  for  a  war-club.  And  the  squaw's  mark  is  perhaps  as  much 
like  a  tobacco  pipe,  as  the  cloud  which  Hamlet  showed  to  Polonius  was 
"  like  a  whale." 


336 

"  I,  Thomas  Stanton,  being  interpreter  in  this  treaty,  do  hereby 
profess  in  the  presence  of  God,  that  I  have  fully  acquainted  the  In- 
dians with  the  substance  of  every  article,  and  truly  returned  their 
answer  and  consent  to  the  same,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  fore- 
going writing,  the  truth  of  which,  if  lawfully  called,  I  shall  readily 
confirm  by  my  oath  at  any  time.  THOMAS  STANTON." 

"  Articles  of  agreement  betwixt  Theophilus  Eaton,  John  Daven- 
port, and  sundry  other  English  planters  at  Quinnypiock  on  the  one 
part,  and  Mantowese,  son  of  an  Indian  sachem,  living  at  Mattabez- 
eck,  and  nephew  to  Sequin,  on  the  other  part,  made  and  concluded 
the  llth  day  of  December,  1638. 

"  First,  the  said  Mantowese  in  presence  and  with  allowance  of 
Sawseunck,  an  Indian  which  came  in  company  with  him,  doth  pro- 
fess, affirm  and  covenant  to  and  with  the  said  Theophilus  Eaton, 
John  Davenport,  and  others,  above,  that, the  land  on  both  sides  the 
river  of  Quinnypiock,  from  the  northerly  bounds  of  the  land  lately 
purchased  by  the  said  English  of  the  Quinnypiock  Indians,  namely 
from  the  pond  in  the  great  meadow,  about  two  miles  above  the  great 
hill,  to  the  head  of  the  river  at  the  great  plain  toward  the  plantations 
settled  by  the  English  upon  the  river  of  Quintecutt,  southerly,  which 
is  about  ten  miles  in  length  from  north  to  south ;  the  bounds  of 
which  land  run  also  eight  miles  easterly  from  the  river  of  Quinnypi- 
ock towards  the  river  of  Quinticutt,  and  five  miles  westerly  towards 
Hudson's  river, — doth  truly  and  solely  belong  to  him  the  said  Man- 
towese, in  right  of  his  deceased  mother,  to  whom  the  said  land  did 
appertain,  and  from  whom  it  justly  descends  upon  him  as  his  in- 
heritance, so  that  he  hath  an  absolute  and  independent  power  to  give, 
alien,  dispose,  or  sell  all,  or  any  part  of  the  said  land  as  he  shall  think 
good  ;  and  that  neither  his  said  father,  nor  any  other  person  whatso- 
ever, have  any  right,  title,  or  interest  in  any  part  of  the  land  descri- 
bed and  limited  as  above,  whereby  he  or  any  other  may  hereafter 
justly  question  what  the  said  Mantowese  now  doth,  or  lay  any  claim 
to  any  part  of  the  said  land  now  disposed  of  by  him. 

"  Secondly,  the  said  Mantowese  being  fully  acquainted  with  the 
agreements  lately  passed  betwixt  the  said  English  planters  and  the 
Sachem  of  Quinnypiock,  his  council  and  company,  did  freely  of 
his  own  accord,  upon  full  and  serious  deliberation,  give,  grant,  and 
yield  up,  all  his  right,  title,  and  interest,  to  all  the  land  mentioned 
and  bounded  as  above,  with  all  the  rivers,  ponds,  trees,  and  all  liber- 


337 

ties  and  appurtenances  whatsoever,  belonging  to  the  same,  to  the 
said  Theophilus  Eaton,  John  Davenport,  and  other  English  planters 
at  Quinnypiock,  and  to  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  desiring  from 
them,  the  said  English  planters,  to  receive  such  a  small  portion  of 
land  by  the  river's  side  about  two  miles  beyond  the  tree  over  the 
river  in  the  passage  from  hence  towards  the  towns  at  Quintecutt,  as 
may  be  sufficient  for  his  small  company  being  but  ten  men  in  num- 
ber, besides  women  and  children,  which  portion  of  land  they  desire 
may  hereafter,  upon  a  view,  be  assigned,  appointed  and  limited  unto 
them  by  the  said  English  planters  ;  reserving  also  to  himself  and  his 
forenamed  company,  liberty,  in  fit  seasons  and  due  manner,  without 
prejudice  to  the  English,  to  hunt  and  fish  and  kill  beaver,  yet  therein 
also  to  be  regulated  by  the  said  English,  upon  discovery  of  any 
annoyance,  as  the  Quinnypiock  Indians  are  in  that  case. 

"  Lastly,  the  said  Theophilus  Eaton,  John  Davenport,  &c.  accep- 
ting from  Mantowese  this  free  gift  of  his  land  as  above,  do  by  way 
of  thankful  retribution  give  unto  him  eleven  coats  made  of  trucking 
cloth,  and  one  coat  for  himself  of  English  cloth,  made  up  after  the 
English  manner,  which  being  thankfully  accepted  by  the  said  Man- 
towese, and  the  agreement  in  all  points  perfected ;  for  ratification 
and  full  confirmation  of  the  same,  Mantowese  and  Sawseunck  have 
hereunto  set  their  hands  or  marks,  this  day  and  year  before  written. 
"MANTOWESE,  —  his  mark. 
"  SAWSEUNCK,  —  his  mark.* 

"  I,  John  Clarke,  being  interpreter  in  this  treaty,  do  hereby  profess 
in  the  presence  of  God,  that  I  have  fully  acquainted  the  Indians  with 
the  substance  of  every  article,  to  the  which  they  have  freely  agreed ; 
that  is  to  say,  that  Mantowese  have  given  to  Mr.  Davenport  and  Mr. 
Eaton  all  his  land  which  he  had  by  his  deceased  mother,  which  he 
saith  is  from  the  head  of  the  great  plain  to  the  pond,  which  he  pro- 
fess to  be  his,  and  promise  to  make  it  good  to  our  English ;  and  for 
this  he  is  satisfied  with  twelve  coats ;  only  reserve  a  piece  of  land  by 
the  river  for  his  men,  which  are  ten,  and  many  squaws,  to  plant  in ; 
and  when  our  cows  come  there,  what  harm  their  dogs  do  to  our  cattle, 
they  will  satisfy  for,  and  we  for  what  harm  our  hogs  do  to  them  in 
corn ;  and  as  for  hunting  and  fishing,  they  are  acquainted,  and  do 


*  Copies  of  these  marks  are  also  in  Barber.  The  first  is  a  bow  and  arrow  ; 
the  second  a  hatchet.  The  most  apcient  emblems  of  heraldry,  probably  had 
an  origin  not  more  dignified. 

43 


>     338 

freely  consent  to  them,  as  their  mark  witness, — the  truth  of  which, 
if  lawfully  called,  I  shall  readily  confirm  by  my  oath  at  any  time : 

"  Per  me,  JOHN  CLARKE.* 

"  We,  Robert  Coggswell,  Roger  Knapp,  and  James  Love,  do 
hereby  renounce  all  right  to  any  and  every  part  of  the  forementioned 
land.  Witness  our  hands  hereunto. 

"  ROBERT  COGGSWELL, 

"JAMES  LOVE, 

"ROGER  KNAPP,  —  his  mark." 

These  two  treaties  define,  with  much  exactness,  the  relations 
which  the  Indians  were  to  sustain  to  the  government  of  the  New 
Haven  colony.  By  the  stipulations  thus  mutually  agreed  upon,  the 
Indians  inhabiting  this  soil  were  taken  under  the  protection,  and,  in 
a  limited  sense,  under  the  government  of  the  English.  Yet  they  re- 
tained all  the  land  which  they  needed  for  planting;  and  their  liberty 
to  roam  through  the  woods  in  their  hunting,  and  to  vex  the  streams 
with  their  fishing,  was  restrained  only  by  the  obligation  not  to  inter- 
fere with  the  corn  fields,  the  pastures,  and  the  fisheries  of  the  Eng- 
lish. What  the  Indians  retained  after  the  treaty,  was  worth  more 
to  them  than  what  they  had  before  the  treaty.  The  consideration 
which  chiefly  moved  them  to  the  cession  was  not  the  coats,  the 
knives,  and  the  hatchets,  the  pewter  spoons  and  porringers,  but  the 
safety  and  manifold  advantages  of  having  the  English  for  their  neigh- 
bors and  protectors. 

That  these  treaties  were  ever  violated  by  either  party  does  not  ap- 
pear in  history.  After  New  Haven  had  lost  its  independent  exist- 
ence, these  treaties  still  regulated  the  intercourse  between  the  Eng- 
lish here  and  their  dependent  neighbors.  At  the  breaking  out  of 
Philip's  war,  after  Eaton  and  Davenport  were  dead,  the  confidence 
of  theQuinnipiacks  in  their  protectors  was  unimpaired.  See  p.  163. 
The  land  ceded  by  these  treaties  seems  to  have  been  all  that  part 
of  New  Haven  county  which  fronts  upon  the  Sound,  between  Guil- 
ford  on  the  east  and  Milford  on  the  west,  a  tract  upon  which  there 
are  now  about  25,000  people,  the  poorest  of  which  has  more  physical 


*  This  interpreter  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  first  inhabitants  of  the 
colony.  The  interpreter  in  the  former  treaty,  Thomas  Stanton,  was  in  the 
fort  at  Saybrook  at  the  beginning  there.  He  afterwards  settled  in  the  Pequot 
country,  I  believe,  and  was  for  many  years  a  sort  of  chief  dragoman  in  all  im- 
portant negotiations  with  the  Indians. 


339 

comforts, — not  to  speak  of  intellectual  and  moral  differences, — than 
the  richest  of  the  Indians  enjoyed  in  1638.  Yet  upon  that  tract  at 
the  date  of  the  treaties,  there  were  subsisting  in  savage  wretchedness 
not  quite  sixty  men,  and  the  largest  estimate  of  women  and  children 
will  not  make  the  entire  native  population  more  than  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  For  every  Indian  there  are  now  a  hundred  white  men.  If 
this  change  has  been  effected  righteously,  it  is  something  worth 
thinking  of  by  those  who  go  for  "  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  great- 
est number." 

As  to  the  actual  treatment  of  the  Indians  under  these  treaties,  I 
find  that  the  limits  of  this  article  will  not  allow  me  to  give  all  the 
illustrations  which  I  had  intended  to  give.  Yet  for  the  sake  of  im- 
partiality, I  begin  with  the  first  record  after  the  formation  of  the 
government  in  1639,  which  describes  the  trial  and  condemnation  of 
a  Pequot  captain.  The  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the  government, 
are  of  very  questionable  equity,  and  are  strongly  censured  by  Dr. 
Trumbull,  I,  115.  The  record  begins,  Oct.  26th,  1639,  the  day 
after  the  first  election  of  civil  officers. 

"  The  civil  affairs  of  the  plantation  being  settled  as  before,  by  the 
providence  of  God,  an  Indian,  called  Messatunck,  alias  Nepaupuck, 
who  had  been  formerly  accused  to  have  murderously  shed  the  blood 
of  some  of  the  English,  of  his  own  accord,  with  a  deer's  head 
upon  his  back,  came  to  Mr.  Eaton's,  where  by  warrant  the  marshal 
apprehended  and  pinioned  him ;  yet  notwithstanding  by  the  subtlety 
and  treachery  of  another  Indian,  his  companion,  he  had  almost 
made  an  escape ;  but  by  the  same  providence  he  was  again  taken, 
and  delivered  into  the  magistrate's  power,  and  by  his  order  safely 
kept  in  the  stocks  till  he  might  be  brought  to  a  due  trial.  And  the 
Indian  who  had  attempted  his  escape  was  whipped  by  the  marshal's 
deputy. 

"Oct.  28lh. — The  Quillipieck  Indian  sagamore,  with  divers  of 
his  Indians  with  him,  were  examined  before  the  magistrate  and  the 
deputies  for  this  plantation,  concerning  Nepaupuck.  They  generally 
accused  him  to  have  murdered  one  or  more  of  the  English,  and  that 
he  had  cut  off  some  of  their  hands,  and  had  presented  them  to  Sas- 
sacuse  the  Pequot  sachem,  boasting  that  he  had  killed  them  with 
his  own  hands. 

"  Mewhebato,  a  duillipieck  Indian,  kinsman  to  the  aforesaid  Ne- 
paupuck, coming  at  the  same  time  to  intercede  for  him,  was  examined 
what  he  knew  concerning  the  murders  charged  upon  the  said  Ne- 


340 

paupuck.  At  first  he  pretended  ignorance ;  but  with  a  distracted 
countenance  and  a  trembling  manner,  being  admonished  to  speak 
the  truth,  he  did  acknowledge  him  guilty  according  to  the  charge 
the  other  Indians  had  before  made. 

"  All  the  other  Indians  withdrawing,  Nepaupuck  was  brought  in 
and  examined.  He  confessed  that  Nepaupuck  was  guilty  according 
to  the  tenor  of  the  former  charge,  but  denied  that  he  was  Nepau- 
puck. Mewhebato  being  brought  in,  after  some  signs  of  sorrow, 
charged  him  to  his  face  that  he  had  assisted  the  Pequots  in  murder- 
ing the  English.  This  somewhat  abated  his  spirit  and  boldness. 
But  Wattoone,  the  son  of  Carrahoode,  a  councillor  to  the  Quillipieck 
Indian  sagamore,  coming  in,  charged  him  more  particularly  that  he 
had  killed  Abraham  Finch,  an  Englishman,  at  Wethersfield  ;  and 
that  he  himself,  the  said  Wattoone,  stood  upon  the  island  at  Wethers- 
field,  and  beheld  him  the  said  Nepaupuck,  now  present,  acting  the 
said  murder.*  Lastly,  the  Quillipieck  sagamore  and  the  rest  of  the 
Indians  being  called  in,  to  his  face  affirmed  that  he  was  Nepaupuck. 
and  that  he  had  murdered  one  or  more  of  the  English  as  before. 

"Nepaupuck  being  by  the  concurrence  of  the  testimony  con- 
vinced, he  confessed  that  he  was  the  man,  namely  Nepaupuck,  and 
boasted  he  was  a  great  captain,  had  murdered  Abraham  Finch,  and 
had  his  hand  in  other  English  blood.  He  said  he  knew  he  must  die, 
and  was  not  afraid  of  it,  but  laid  his  neck  to  the  mantle-tree  of  the 
chimney,  desiring  his  head  might  be  cut  off,  or  that  he  might  die  in 
any  other  manner  the  English  should  appoint,  only  he  said  fire  was 
God,  and  God  was  angry  with  him,  therefore  he  would  not  fall  into 
his  hands.  After  this  he  was  returned  to  the  stocks,  and  as  before, 
a  watch  appointed  for  his  safe  custody. 

"  A  General  Court  29th  of  October,  1639. — A  general  court  be- 
ing assembled  to  proceed  against  the  said  Indian  Nepaupuck,  who 
was  then  brought  to  the  bar,  and  being  examined  as  before,  at  the 
first  he  denied  that  he  was  that  Nepaupuck  which  had  committed 
those  murders  wherewith  he  was  charged.  But  when  he  saw  that 
the  Quillipieck  sagamore  and  his  Indians  did  again  accuse  him  to 
his  lace,  he  confessed  that  he  had  his  hand  in  the  murder  of  Abra- 
ham Finch ;  but  yet  he  said  there  was  a  Mohauke  of  that  name 
that  had  killed  more  than  he. 

"  Wattoone  affirmed  to  his  face  that  he,  the  said  Nepaupuck,  did 
not  only  kill  Abraham  Finch,  but  was  one  of  them  that  killed  the 

*  See  Trumlmll,  I.  77. 


341 

three  men  in  the  boat  or  shallop  on  Connecticut  River  ;*  and  that 
there  was  but  one  Nepaupuck,  and  this  was  he,  and  the  same  that 
took  a  child  of  Mr.  Swain's  at  Wethersfield.  Then  the  said  Nepau- 
puck being  asked  if  he  would  not  confess  he  deserved  to  die,  he  an- 
swered it  is  wereginj 

"  The  court  having  had  such  pregnant  proof,  proceeded  to  pass 
sentence  upon  him  according  to  the  nature  of  the  fact,  and  the  rule 
in  that  case,  He  that  sheds  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be 
shed.  Accordingly  his  head  was  cut  off  the  next  day,  and  pitched 
upon  a  pole  in  the  market  place." 

Several  considerations  naturally  lead  us  to  condemn  this  entire 
transaction. 

1.  How  was  this  Indian  accountable  to  the  courts  of  the  New 
Haven  plantation?     He  seems  to  have  been  a  Pequot ;   and  at  the 
time  when  the  alledged  crimes  were  committed,  the  Pequots  were 
an  independent  sovereignty. 

2.  The  murders  were  not  committed  within  the  bounds  of  the 
New  Haven  colony,  nor  upon  subjects  of  this  jurisdiction.     They 
were  committed  a  full  year  before  the  settlers  of  New  Haven  made 
their  landing  at  Quinnipiack.     It  may  therefore  be  said,  that  if  the 
murderer  was  personally  accountable  to  the  English  any  where,  he 
was  accountable  to  the  colony  upon  the  Connecticut. 

3.  Dr.  Trumbull  remarks  that  it  is  not  according  to  the  maxims 
of  "this  enlightened  age,  that  the  subjects  of  princes  killing  men  by 
their  orders,  in  war,  ought  to  be  treated  as  murderers."     Nepaupuck 
was  a  savage  warrior  making  war,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Pequots, 
against  the  English.     Ought  he  to  have  been  held  personally  ac- 
countable, after  the  war  was  ended,  for  his  conduct  as  an  enemy  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war  1 

4.  Dr.  Trumbull  also  remarks  on  the  barbarous  ceremony  of  set- 
ting up  the  head  of  the  decapitated  offender  on  a  pole,  as  "  too 

"  Trumbull,  I,  76. 

t  Roger  Williams  (Key.  50)  gives  the  word  wunegin  as  signifying  "  well 
or  good  ;"  and  from  an  observation  of  his,  (ib.  96,)  it  appears  that  in  the  dif- 
fering dialects  of  neighboring  tribes,  n  and  r  were  interchanged.  Anum,  "  a 
dog,"  in  the  Cowweset,  became  arum  in  the  Uuinnipiack.  So  in  Eliot's 
Bible,  Gen.  1,  10,  "  God  saw  that  it  was  good,"  wunnaumun  God  ne  en  iffun- 
negen.  In  the  epitaph  on  a  Mohegan  sachem,  who  died  in  1741,  are  these 
two  lines, — 

"  For  courage  bold,  and  things  werheegan 
He  was  the  glory  of  Mohegan." 


342 

nearly  symbolizing  with  the  examples  of  uncivilized  and  pagan  na- 
tions." The  censure  is  undoubtedly  just.  The  English  may  have 
deemed  it  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  upon  the  savages 
a  sense  of  the  sternness  of  English  justice  against  murderers  ;  but 
in  so  judging  they  took  counsel  more  of  fear  than  of  wisdom. 

On  the  other  hand,  while  in  my  judgment  the  proceeding  as  a 
whole  was  unjustifiable,  there  are  several  considerations  against  con- 
demning it  too  harshly. 

1.  It  was  the  constant  practice  of  the  New  England  colonies, 
whenever  a  murder  had  been  committed  by  the  Indians,  to  de- 
mand of  the  sachems  the  surrender  of  the  murderers  for  punish- 
ment, together  with  such  other  satisfaction  as  the  nature  of  the 
case  required.     Upon  the  face  of  all  their  dealings  with  the  Indians, 
the  great  law,  "  He  that  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood 
be  shed,"  stood  prominent.     Every  other  crime  could  be  made  the 
subject  of  treaty  and  compromise  with  the- tribe,  and  could  be  settled 
without  the  visitation  of  English  justice  on  the  head  of  the  individual 
perpetrator.     But  for  the  murder  of  man,  woman,  or  child,  belonging 
to  the  English,  there  was  no  expiation,  no  satisfaction,  "no  ransom," 
but  in  the  surrender  of  the  murderers  for  punishment.     Looking  at 
this  part  of  their  policy,  disconnected  from  the  individual  case  be- 
fore us,  who  will  say  that  it  was  either  unwise  or  unrighteous.     The 
"inner  light"  in  the  bosom  of  the  savage,  more  to  be  trusted,  if  we 
believe  Fox  and  Bancroft,*  than  the  "dead  letter"  of  any  "outward 
religion,"  justified  the  policy.     Could  any  other  policy  have  been  so 
well  calculated  to  teach  those  bloody  barbarians  the  sacredness  of 
human  life  ? 

2.  In  dealing  with  the  Indians  on  the  principle  above  mentioned, 
the  New  Englanders  were  not  in  the  habit  of  inquiring  where  the 
murder  was  committed, — whether  within  the  bounds  of  this  colony, 
or  of  that,  or  of  any.     If  a  murder  had  been  committed,  that  was 
enough.     We  may  well  ask,  Was  it  not  enough?     Was  there  any 
injustice  in  insisting  that  the  lives  of  the  English,  not  only  in  their 
dwellings  and  on  their  planting  grounds,  but  on  the  rivers  and  in  the 
forests,  should  be  inviolable  ?    Was  there  any  injustice  in  demand- 
ing that  the  Indian  who  had  any  where  imbrued  his  hands  in  Eng- 
lish blood,  should  be  delivered  up  to  English  justice?     I  know  that 
this  is  not  the  law  which  regulates  in  such  cases  the  intercourse  of 

*  See  Bancroft,  II,  334—352. 


343 

civilized  governments ;  but  it  was  the  Indian  law  of  nations,  revealed 
to  the  barbarians  by  their  "  inner  light." 

3.  In  this  particular  instance,  the  murders  were  part  of  a  series  of 
atrocities  for  which  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  had  jointly  made 
war  upon  the  Pequots,  and  swept  them  from  the  country.     Here  was 
one  of  the  actual  perpetrators  of  those  atrocities,  who  had  survived 
the  ruin  of  his  nation.     Because  his  nation  had  been  swept  away, 
was  he,   the  bloody  perpetrator  of  those  hideous  murders,  to  go  un- 
punished ?     Such,  doubtless,  was  the  reasoning  by  which  the  court 
was  misled  in  the  condemnation  and  punishment  of  Nepaupuck. 

4.  It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  the  Indian,  though  by  no  means 
wanting  in  ingenuity,  did  not  question  at  all  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
court  or  the  equity  of  the  proceedings.     "  Being  asked  if  he  would 
not  confess  he  deserved  to  die,  he  answered, "it  is  weregin."     The 
law  of  God  written  upon  his  conscience  told  him  that  the  punish- 
ment was  just.     The  question  is,  whether  it  was  justly  inflicted, — 
a  question  that  escaped  his  uninstructed  sense  of  justice. 

This  is  the  only  instance  of  a  questionable  act  in  respect  to  the 
Indians,  which  I  have  found  in  the  history  of  the  New  Haven  col- 
ony. Every  thing  else  in  the  records  accords  perfectly  with  the  tes- 
timony of  Hubbard,  who  ascribes  the  peace  which  the  planters  here 
enjoyed  with  their  Indian  neighbors,  to  "  a  due  carefulness  in  doing 
justice  to  them  upon  all  occasions  against  the  English." 

Among  the  earliest  regulations  adopted  in  this  colony  respecting 
the  Indians,  were  the  orders  that  no  individual  should  buy  any  land 
of  the  natives,  unless  specially  authorized  to  do  so  -r  and  that  none 
should  furnish  them  "  directly  or  indirectly  with  any  ammunition 
whatsoever."  To  these  was  soon  added  a  law  strictly  prohibiting 
the  selling  or  giving  of  any  intoxicating  drink  to  Indians, — a  law 
often  violated  by  the  unthinking  good  nature  of  individuals,  but  al- 
ways put  in  force  when  an  Indian  was  found  intoxicated. 

The  first  instance  of  the  appearance  of  a  New  Haven  Indian  in 
court  as  an  offender,  is  on  the  1st  of  July,  1646.  "  Pawquash,  a 
duillipiock  Indian,  was  first  complained  of  for  leaving  open  the 
oystershell-field  gate,  and  damage  being  done  thereby,  refused  to 
give  any  satisfaction.  Secondly,  he  about  four  years  since,  came 
into  Mr.  Crane's  house  when  they  were  blessing  God  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  he  then  did  blasphemously  say,  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  mattamoy  and  naught,  and  his  bones  rotten,  and  spake 
of  an  Indian  in  Mantoise's  plantation  ascended  into  heaven.  Which 


344 

was  witnessed  by  Mr.  Crane,  Mrs.  Crane,  Mrs.  Ling,  Wm.  Holt, 
Goodwife  Camp.  The  sentence  of  the  court  was  that  he  should  be 
severely  whipped  for  his  scorning  at  our  worshipping  God,  and  blas- 
pheming the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus;  and  informed  him  that  if  he 
should  do  so  hereafter,  or  [if]  now  it  had  been  against  the  light  he 
now  has,  it  would  hazard  his  life.  And  for  the  damage  by  means  of 
the  gate  being  left  open,  he  was  to  pay  5s  to  Thomas  Knowles." 

In  1649,  the  united  colonies  were  greatly  alarmed  by  the  plotting 
of  the  Narragansetts  and  Nehantics  with  the  Mohawks.  The  con- 
gress of  commissioners  gave  directions  that  the  colonies  should  be 
put  in  readiness  for  any  emergency.  Trumbull,  I,  180.  Accord- 
ingly the  records  here  at  that  time  were  filled  with  orders  putting 
the  town  in  a  state  of  defense,  and  raising  men  and  stores  for  the 
public  service.  Yet  the  only  allusion  to  the  Indians  of  this  neighbor- 
hood is,  "  It  was  thought  fit  that  when  men  shall  go  forth  against  the 
Indians,  that  our  Indians  be  sent  for,  and  warned  not  to  come  to  or 
about  the  town,  but  upon  their  peril."  The  sight  of  savages  in  the 
town  at  such  a  time  might  create  alarm,  and  result  in  disturbance. 

In  the  following  record  of  an  action  of  assault  and  battery,  we  have 
an  illustration  of  the  confidence  with  which  the  Indians  looked  to 
the  courts  of  New  Haven  for  protection. 

"  June  25th,  1650. — A  seaman  that  went  in  Michael  Taynter's 
vessel,  was  brought  before  the  governor  and  accused  by  Wash,  an 
Indian,  that  he  having  hired  him  to  show  him  the  way  to  Totoket, 
and  agreed  for  12rf ;  when  he  was  upon  the  way,  Wash  asked  him 
for  his  money ;  the  man  gave  him  10J,  lack  two  wampum.  Wash 
said  he  must  have  12rf,  else  he  would  not  go ;  whereupon  the  seaman 
took  him  by  the  arm,  pulled  him,  and  threw  him  down,  and  stamped 
upon  him,  and  in  striving  broke  his  arm.  The  seaman  said  he  agreed 
with  him  for  lOrf,  and  gave  him  so  much ;  but  Wash  would  not  go, 
and  struck  him  first ;  and  he  cannot  tell  that  he  broke  his  arm,  for  it 
was  sore  before.  Whereupon  Mr.  Besthup  and  Mr.  Augur,  two 
surgeons,  being  desired  to  give  their  advice,  said,  to  their  best  appre- 
hension, the  arm  was  broken  now,  though  by  reason  of  an  old  sore, 
whereby  the  bone  might  be  infected,  might  cause  it  the  more  easily 
to  break.  The  court  was  called,  but  none  came  to  the  governor  but 
Mr.  Crane,  Mr.  Gibbard,  and  Francis  Newman.  They  would  have 
persuaded  Wash  to  have  taken  some  wampum  for  satisfaction,  but 
he  would  not  hear  of  it,  but  said  he  desired  it  might  be  healed  at  the 
man's  charge.  Whereupon  the  court  desired  Mr.  Besthup  to  do  the 


345 

best  he  could  to  heal  it,  and  promised  him  satisfaction,  and  for  the 
present  sent  the  man  to  prison.  But  quickly  after,  Philip  Leeke, 
John  Jones,  and  Edward  Camp,  became  his  bail,  and  bound  them- 
selves in  a  bond  of  =£10,  that  upon  a  month's  warning  left  with  Philip 
Leeke,  the  man  should  make  his  appearance  here  before  authority. 
And  David  Sellevant  and  Robert  Lord  became  sureties,  and  engaged 
to  bear  them  harmless." 

In  1653,  there  was  another  general  alarm  throughout  New  Eng- 
land, and  great  expectation  of  a  war  not  only  with  the  Narragansetts 
and  their  confederates,  but  also  with  the  Dutch.  A  town  meeting 
was  held  on  the  21st  of  March.  "  Thomas  Jeffery  was  chosen  ser- 
geant for  this  town  in  the  room  of  Sergeant  Andrews,"  who  "  by 
reason  of  his  weakness  and  remote  dwelling,"  could  not  supply  the 
place  in  such  an  emergency.  Ephraim  How*  also  "  was  propoun- 
ded and  chosen  drummer  for  this  town,"  "  Nathaniel  Kimberly  be- 
ing gone  who  did  supply  the  place."  The  nightly  watch  was  in- 
creased from  four  to  seven,  who  were  to  watch  from  half  an  hour 
after  sunset  till  sunrise.  "  And  they  are  not  to  shoot  off  any  of  their 
guns  except  it  be  in  case  of  an  alarm ;  against  which  time  men  were 
desired  to  prepare  themselves  by  having  their  arms  ready  that  they 
may  quietly  put  them  on  and  march  away  to  the  meeting  house  or 
otherwise  as  the  order  is;  and  that  beforehand  they  would  [deter- 
mine] how  to  dispose  of  wives  and  children,  that  they  do  not  hang 
about  them  to  hinder  them  from  the  public  service."  The  train 
band  were  ordered  to  bring  to  every  public  meeting  at  least  five  or 
six  charges  of  powder  and  shot.  The  farmers,  when  they  came  to 
meeting,  were  to  "  leave  no  more  arms  at  home  than  they  leave  men 
to  use  them."  A  watch  was  to  be  kept  at  the  farms ;  and  in  the  town 
beside  the  nightly  watch,  two  men,  taken  in  course,  were  to  keep 
ward  by  day.  It  was  "  ordered  that  the  half  pikes  be  forthwith 
headed,  and  the  whole  ones  mended  or  made  as  they  need,  and  Lieut. 
Nash  was  desired  to  look  after  it."  Every  soldier  was  to  provide  him- 
self with  cartridges ;  "  also  no  man  is  to  leave  his  gun  in  the  meeting 
house  on  any  public  meeting  days,  as  the  manner  of  some  is,  lest 
their  guns  be  seized  and  they  fined  for  it."  "  Samuel  Whitehead 
was  desired  to  dress  the  swords  that  are  brought  to  him  for  that  pur- 
pose ;  and  the  gunsmiths  are  desired  to  attend  to  the  mending  of  the 
guns  in  the  town  that  are  brought  to  them."  Wood  was  ordered  to 

*  For  a  marvelous  story  about  this  Ephraim  How,  in  Mather's  own  mar- 
velous style,  see  Magn.  VI,  3. 

44 


346 

be  provided  for  the  watch  house.  The  door  of  the  meeting  house 
next  the  soldiers'  seat  was  to  be  kept  clear  from  women  and  children, 
that  in  case  of  an  alarm  the  soldiers  might  have  a  free  passage. 
Then  after  the  transaction  of  some  more  ordinary  and  peaceful  busi- 
ness,* "  the  governor  acquainted  the  town,  that  the  Indians  complain 
that  the  swine  that  belong  to  the  town  or  farms  do  them  much  wrong 
in  eating  their  corn,  and  now  they  intend  to  take  in  a  new  piece  of 
ground ;  and  they  desired  the  English  would  help  them  to  fence  it, 
and  that  those  who  have  meadows  at  the  end  of  their  ground  would 
fence  it,  and  save  them  fencing  about.  Sergeant  JefTery  and  John 
Brocket  were  desired  to  go  speak  with  them,  to  know  what  ground 
it  is  which  they  intend  to  take  in,  and  to  view  it  and  see  what  fencing 
it  may  be,  and  give  them  the  best  direction  they  can.  The  saga- 
more also  desires  the  town  to  give  him  a  coat.  He  saith  he  is  old 
and  poor,  and  cannot  work.  The  town  declared  themselves  free 
that  he  should  have  a  coat  given  him  at  the  town's  charge." 

At  the  next  town  meeting,  on  the  llth  of  April,  "the  governor 
desired  that  in  his  absence  [he  was  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  United  Colonies  on  the  19th]  they  would  be  care- 
ful to  see  the  watches  duly  attended ;  and  that  the  great  guns  may 
be  fitted  for  service,  and  that  the  platform  may  be  finished,  and  though 
it  cost  more  than  the  jurisdiction  will  allow,  yet  it  must  be  done,  and 
New  Haven  must  bear  it,"  &-c.  Then,  after  some  ordinary  busi- 
ness, "  it  is  ordered  concerning  the  Indians'  land,  spoken  of,  the 
last  court,  that  Thomas  Jeffery,  John  Brocket,  William  Tuttil,  and 
Robert  Talmadge,  shall  be  a  committee  to  view  the  ground  which 
they  say  is  theirs,  and  to  advise  them  for  the  best  about  fencing ; 
the  meadow  lying  against  their  grounds  bearing  its  due  proportion; 
and  that  some  men  be  appointed  at  the  town's  charge  to  show  them 
how  and  help  them  in  their  fencing;  that  so  we  may  not  have  such 
complaints  from  them  of  cattle  and  hogs  spoiling  their  corn,  which 
they  say  makes  their  squaws  and  children  cry." 


*  Immediately  after  the  order  about  a  free  passage  from  the  soldiers'  seat 
in  the  meeting  house,  to  the  door,  follows,  "  The  boys  and  youths  of  the 
town  are  ordered  to  sit  in  the  seat  where  the  scholars  used  to  sit,  and  one  of 
the  corporals  are  desired  to  sit  in  the  uppermost  seat  behind  them,  to  see  that 
they  be  not  disorderly ;  and  what  cannot  sit  there  are  to  sit  before  the  dea- 
cons' seat,  and  old  Brother  Wheeler  is  to  look  to  them  ;  and  if  any  boys  ab- 
sent themselves  from  these  places,  the  marshal  is  to  look  after  them  and 
bring  them  in." 


347 

The  apprehension  of  danger  was  continually  increasing,  and  in 
the  month  of  May,  "  it  was  ordered  that  the  officers  give  in  charge 
to  the  warders,  to  let  the  Indians  know  that  they  are  not  to  come  into 
the  town  with  any  arms,  and  if  after  warning  any  shall  so  come,  that 
they  take  their  arms  away.  And  if  any  strange  Indians  come  into 
the  town,  that  they  examine  them ;  and  if  their  business  be  public, 
to  carry  them  to  the  magistrate  that  he  may  know  it;  but  if  they 
have  no  such  business,  then  they  are  to  cause  them  to  depart,  and 
not  suffer  them  to  walk  up  and  down  the  town." 

In  that  busy  time  of  military  preparation,  the  execution  of  the  or- 
der for  fencing  the  Indians'  planting  grounds  appears  to  have  been 
neglected.  But  in  October,  the  subject  was  called  up  again  and  "  it 
was  thought  most  convenient,  and  so  ordered,  that  the  townsmen 
shall  treat  with  the  Indians,  getting  Mr.  Pierson  and  his  Indian  for 
interpreters,*  and  make  a  full  agreement  in  writing,  what  we  shall 
do,  and  what  they  shall  be  bound  to ;  and  let  them  know  that  what 
their  agreement  is,  we  expect  they  shall  perform  it."  Accordingly, 
"  at  a  general  court  for  New  Haven,  December  5th,  1653,  the  gov- 
ernor informed  the  town  that  the  meeting  is  about  an  agreement 
made  with  the  Indians  about  fencing  them  in  a  new  cornfield,  where- 
in, at  the  town's  request,  Mr.  Pierson  hath  been  desired  to  be  help- 
ful as  interpreter;  to  which  agreement  the  townsmen  have  subscribed 
on  behalf  of  the  town,  and  the  sagamore  and  sundry  other  Indians 
have  set  their  marks,  for  themselves  and  the  rest  of  the  Indians, — 
Mr.  Pierson  and  John  Brocket  witnesses, — made  the  29th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1653;  wherein  threescore  days'  work  is  promised  them  towards 
their  fence,  and  they  have  bound  themselves  to  do  no  damage  to  the 
English  cattle,  and  to  secure  their  own  corn  from  damage,  or  to  re- 
quire none; — which  agreement  was  read  to  the  town,  and  assented 
to  by  them.'  And  after  some  debate  about  the  manner  of  doing  the 
days'  work,  it  was  voted  that  it  should  be  done  by  men  fit  and  able 
for  the  work,  and  be  paid  out  of  the  town  treasury." 

The  agreement  being  put  upon  the  files  and  not  upon  the  records, 
we  have  only  the  abstract  given  above,  to  show  us  what  it  was. 

At  a  court  of  magistrates  for  the  jurisdiction,  18th  October,  1656, 
"  New  Haven  Indians  were  with  the  court,  and  desired  them  to  lend 

*  The  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  the  first  minister  of  Branford,  is  commemo- 
rated among  those  early  ministers  of  New  England  who  like  Eliot  labored 
for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  around  them.  He  preached  to  the  Indians 
in  New  Haven  colony,  and  to  aid  him  in  this  work  a  considerable  sum  was 
voted  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies.— Tnimbull,  I,  46t). 


348 

them,  now  in  the  time  of  their  fears,  three  pounds  of  powder.  They 
were  told  that  they  must  remove  themselves  to  the  other  side  where 
their  own  land  is,  and  not  dwell  here  near  the  town,  where  they  are 
disorderly  and  give  offense  ;  and  upon  their  remove  thither,  which 
they  have  seven  or  eight  days  liberty  for,  they  shall  have  three 
pounds  of  powder  lent  them." 

At  a  similar  court  on  the  25th  of  May,  1657,  "Thomas  Hope- 
well,  an  Indian  that  inhabits  at  Branford,  was  complained  of  for 
giving  railing  and  threatening  words  to  several  persons,  as  John 
Whitehead,  Francis  Bradley,  Samuel  Ward,  Josias  Ward,  and  Good- 
wife  Williams  and  her  son,  saying  that  he  would  knock  some  of  them 
in  the  head,  stab  some  of  them  at  the  heart,  meet  with  them  in  the 
woods  some  time  or  other,  and  then  let  them  look  to  it.  He  hath  also 
accused  to  Goodw.  Williams,  Francis  Bradley  for  being  naught  with 
his  wife,  and  after  denied  it  again.  But  being  examined  and  seve- 
ral writings  read  by  way  of  testimony,  witnessing  his  miscarriages,  he 
could  show  no  just  cause  for  such  words  or  carriage,  but  said  he  had 
no  witness  here  to  clear  him.  Whereupon  he  had  liberty  to  send 
for  them  ;  and  he  was  told,  upon  security  he  might  have  his  liberty ; 
but  failing  of  that  he  was  committed  to  prison  in  the  mean  time. 
After  a  convenient  season  of  waiting,  he  was  called  before  the  court 
again,  but  no  witness  appeared  to  clear  him;  only  he  accused  the 
wife  of  Richard  Harrison  for  giving  him  some  idle  words  which  he 
requited  with  worse,  both  which  the  court  witnessed  against,  and  told 
him  that  if  he  can  clear  himself  of  all  or  any  of  these  charges,  he  hath 
liberty.  At  last  he  confessed  that  he  had  done  foolishly,  and  said  he 
was  faulty  in  the  particulars  mentioned,  and  promised  amendment. 
Whereupon  Mr.  Crane,  John  Whitehead,  Francis  Bradley,  and  Rich- 
ard Harrison,  who  where  present,  declared  themselves  satisfied  so  far 
as  to  make  a  trial  for  a  time.  And  the  court  told  Thomas  the  In- 
dian that  the  miscarriages  are  very  great,  and  such  as  may  not  be 
borne,  and  had  it  been  an  Englishman  he  would  have  been  witness- 
ed against  in  another  manner;  but  upon  his  confession,  and  promise 
to  walk  inoffensively  hereafter,  the  court  will  spare  him,  and  also 
make  a  trial  for  this  time ;  and  so  upon  his  paying  his  fees  for  im- 
prisonment, and  other  charges,  if  it  be  required,  he  may  have  his 
liberty."  May  not  this  Thomas  Hopewell  have  been  Mr.  Pierson's 
Indian,  mentioned  p.  347?  Another  "  Thomas  the  Indian,"  a  wheel- 
right,  appears  upon  the  town  records  in  1G57,  as  an  absconding 
debtor. 


349 

In  April,  1657,  the  Uuinnipiack  Indians  asked  leave  of  the  town 
to  remove  from  their  allotted  ground  in  East  Haven,  and  to  hire 
some  land  for  planting  about  Oyster  Point,  desiring  to  live  there  for 
that  summer.  Their  request  was  accompanied  with  fair  promises, 
"  that  they  would  not  be  injurious  to  the  English,  and  that  they 
would  not  work  on  the  Sabbath  day."  The  townsmen  were  au- 
thorized to  treat  with  them,  and  were  instructed  to  insist  on  these 
conditions, — "  that  they  harbor  no  strange  Indians  to  dwell  with 
them ;  that  they  kill  all  their  dogs,  (some  of  them  having  done  mis- 
chief already  ;)  that  they  neither  burn  nor  otherwise  destroy  any 
man's  fence,  nor  cut  wood  upon  any  man's  ground  without  leave, 
nor  take  away  any  wood  already  cut,  as  some  of  them  have  done, 
and  if  they  do,  just  satisfaction  will  be  required ;  that  they  stay  not 
late  in  the  town  at  night,  nor  come  into  the  town  with  any  arms, 
hatchets,  clubs,  SLC.  ;  that  they  come  not  into  any  houses  without 
asking  leave,  and  if  they  are  bid  to  go  away,  that  they  do  it  without 
gainsaying."  Thus  instructed,  "the  committee  met  and  treated 
with  the  sagamore  and  some  other  Indians  deputed,  who  after  con- 
sideration returned  answer,  that  the  Indians  would  not  kill  their 
dogs."  Upon  this  point  the  negotiation  failed. 

In  September,  1659,  "  Wampom,  the  sachem  of  Totoket,  entered 
an  action  against  Thomas  Mulliner,  concerning  damage  he  sustained 
in  corn  planted  upon  land  hired  of  him.  But  through  the  want  of 
an  interpreter,  the  court  could  not  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
case.  The  plaintiff  was  desired  to  procure  an  interpreter  against 
the  court  in  October  next;  at  which  time,  he  was  told,  that  the 
court  would  attend  the  issuing  of  the  matter."  Probably  the  affair 
was  settled  between  the  parties ;  for  nothing  more  appears  on  the 
records. 

In  October,  1648,  Mr.  John  Whitmore,  of  Stamford,  was  mur- 
dered in  the  woods  by  the  Indians.  Dr.  Trumbull  gives  the  story, 
(I,  176.)  "The  sachem's  son  first  carried  the  news  into  town,  and 
reported  that  one  Toquattoes  had  killed  him,  and  had  some  of  his 
clothes,  of  which  he  gave  a  particular  description.  From  this  cir- 
cumstance, it  was  suspected,  that  he  was  either  a  principal  or  an  ac- 
complice in  the  crime.  No  such  evidence,  however,  could  be  ob- 
tained as  would  warrant  the  apprehending  him.  The  English  took 
great  pains  to  find  the  remains  of  Mr.  Whitmore,  but  could  make  no 
discovery  at  that  time.  About  two  months  after,  Uncas,  with  several 
of  his  Indians,  went  to  Stamford,  and  making 'inquiry  concerning 


350 

Mr.  Whitmore's  body,  the  sachem's  son  and  one  Kehoran,  another 
of  the  natives  who  had  been  suspected,  led  Uncas,  with  his  men,  and 
a  number  of  the  English,  directly  to  the  place  of  his  remains.  Upon 
carrying  them  into  town,  the  sachem's  son  and  Kehoran  fell  a-trem- 
bling,  and  manifested  such  signs  of  guilt,  that  the  Moheagans  de- 
clared that  they  were  guilty.  But  before  they  could  be  apprehended, 
they  made  their  escape.  The  Indians  at  Stamford  and  its  vicinity, 
either  through  fear  of  their  sachem,  or  favor  to  his  son,  or  from  some 
other  cause,  charged  the  murder  upon  Toquattoes.  But  neither  he, 
nor  the  other  suspected  persons,  were  delivered  up,  nor  could  the 
English  bring  them  to  any  examination  respecting  the  subject." 

Certainly  the  suspicion  against  the  sachem's  son  was  very  strong. 
I  cannot  but  suspect  that  in  some  communities,  so  many  suspicious 
circumstances  would  have  been  thought  proof  enough  against  an  In- 
dian. But  in  1662,  fourteen  years  after  the  murder,  Taphanse,  the 
sachem's  son,  was  arrested  and  brought  to  trial  in  New  Haven. 
The  record  of  the  trial  covers  four  folio  pages  in  the  minute  chirog- 
raphy  of  James  Bishop,  and  therefore  cannot  be  given  here.  In- 
stead of  a  transcript,  I  offer  a  brief  summary  of  the  testimony,  and 
of  the  replies  of  the  defendant. 

1.  It  was  proved  against  him  that  on  the  day  on  which  the  mur- 
der was  committed,  he  was  with  some  other  Indians  at  the  house  of 
Goodman  Whitmore,  and  shook  Goodwife  Whitmore  by  the  hand, 
and  asked  her  "  where  her  netop  was,  for  he  so  big  loved  her  netop ;" 
and  that  this  fawning  of  his  was  such  as  awakened  instantly  the  wo- 
man's suspicion,  and  filled  her  with  the  apprehension  that  some  evil 
had  befallen  her  husband.     To  this  he  answered,  "  What  shall  he 
say  if  testimony  come  in  against  him;  but  if  he  speak  the  truth  he 
must  say  he  was  not  there,  and  that  it  was  a  mistake."    And  this  the 
interpreter  said,  "  he  spake  in  such  a  phrase  as  noted  his  confirma- 
tion of  it  more  than  ordinary,  'that  if  Manatue  [Manitou]  was  here, 
he  would  say  the  same  as  he  doth.' " 

2.  It  was  proved  that  Taphanse  came  to  Mr.  Lawes'  about  sun- 
rise, on  the  second  morning  after  Goodman  Whitmore  left  home, 
and  brought  the  news  that  an  Englishman  had  been  killed ;  that  be- 
ing asked,  where,  he  answered  that  he  knew  not  whether  it  was  ten 
miles  off  or  twenty,  but  pointed  "  up-the-river-ward,"   intimating 
that  it  was  in  that  direction ; — that  upon  farther  inquiry  he  said  the 
murder  was  committed  by  an  Indian  that  lived  up  near  the  Mohawks, 
who  had  told  them  at  their  wigwams  that  he  would  kill  an  English- 


351 

man,  and  who,  when  they  offered  him  wampum  not  to  do  it,  refused 
the  wampum  and  went  away  angry,  and  after  the  murder  returned 
again,  bringing  some  of  the  murdered  man's  apparel ;  and  that  in  the 
haste  in  which  this  murderer,  whom  he  named  Toquattoes,  went 
away,  he  left  one  of  the  stockings  at  their  wigwams.  It  also  ap- 
peared that  Mr.  Lawes  and  some  others  went  with  him  to  the  wig- 
wams; and  on  the  way  he  so  trembled  and  shook,  that  several  of 
them  took  notice  of  it  as  a  sign  of  guilt ; — and  that  there,  after  show- 
ing them  the  stocking,  though  he  had  promised  to  return  with  them 
and  help  them  seek  the  dead  body,  he  gave  them  the  slip  and  made 
his  escape.  To  this  he  answered  only  by  a  denial  of  the  facts  testi- 
fied. As  for  the  trembling,  Mr.  Minor,  the  interpreter,  testified  that 
he  had  been  often  among  the  Indians  when  mischief  was  done 
among  the  English,  and  that  those  Indians  who  were  innocent  would 
tremble  for  fear. 

3.  It  was  proved  that  afterwards,  when  Uncas  and  his  Indians 
went  with  several  of  the  Stamford  Indians  to  seek  the  dead  body, 
he  not  only  conducted  them  directly  to  the  spot,  notwithstanding  his 
former  professions  of  ignorance,  but  afterwards  as  they  were  roast- 
ing venison,  slipped  out  of  sight  and  ran  away,  "so  that  Uncas 
brought  word  that  Taphanse  was  matchet."*    To  this  he  replied  that 
he  did  run  away,  because  he  had  been  told  by  another  Indian  that 
Uncas  was  intending  to  seize  him.     He  admitted  that  he  did  very  ill 
in  so  doing,  and  gave  just  cause  of  suspicion,  and  professed  to  be  very 
sorry  for  it.     He  also  said  that  Toquattoes  had  told  him,  some  time 
after  the  murder  was  committed,  where  the  remains  could  be  found. 

4.  This  was  another  ground  of  suspicion.     There  appeared  to 
have  been  no  little  "  correspondency"  and  mutual  understanding 
between  Taphanse  and  the  murderer.     He  was  asked  how  he  knew 
so  perfectly  that  Toquattoes  did  the  murder, — was  he  by  1     To  this 
his  answer  was  not  entirely  satisfactory,  though  it  might  be  true,  and 
if  true,  was  consistent  with  his  innocence.     He  was  asked  how  he 
came  to  see  Toquattoes  after  the  murder,  when  he  ascertained  the 
place  where  the  remains  were  to  be  found.     He  answered  that  Mr. 
Lawes  sent  him  on  that  errand, — a  circumstance,  which  in  his 
former  examination  at  Stamford  he  had  not  mentioned  at  all.     It 
also  appeared  that  Toquattoes  had  been  at  Stamford  the  winter  be- 
fore the  trial ;   and  that  Taphanse  saw  him  there,  and  though  he 
knew  himself  to  be  suspected,  took  no  pains  to  clear  himself  by 

*  "  Matchit — naught  or  evil."     Roger  Williams,  Key,  50. 


352 

making  it  known  that  the  murderer  was  there,  but  concealed  the 
guilty  person.  He  admitted  that  this  was  suspicious ;  but  said  the 
English  never  told  him  to  do  any  such  thing. 

The  sentence  of  the  court  was  pronounced  by  Gov.  Leet.  It  ex- 
hibits, as  the  decisions  of  those  courts  sometimes  do,  some  principles 
that  seem  to  us  altogether  out  of  place  in  a  judicial  proceeding;  but 
it  shows  no  hatred  towards  the  Indian.  After  summing  up  the  evi- 
dence, the  governor  declared,  "  that  in  the  whole  there  stands  a  blot 
against  him  of  suspicion ;  that  there  was  sufficient  ground  for  his  ap- 
prehending and  committing  to  durance,  and  all  that  he  hath  said  at 
this  time  cannot  clear  him  of  a  stain  of  suspicion.  But  as  being 
guilty  of  the  murder  directly  or  accessary,  he  did  pronounce  him  not 
guilty  in  point  of  death ;  but  must  declare  him  to  stand  bound  to  pay 
all  charges  that  hath  been  about  him  ;  and  leave  him  guilty  of  sus- 
picion, and  that  he  stands  bound  as  his  duty,  to  do  his  best  endeavor 
to  obtain  the  murderer,  and  now  to  remain  in  durance  until  the  next 
session  of  the  court,  about  a  fortnight  hence,  except  he  can  give  some 
assurance  of  his  paying  the  charge  before  ; — which  charge  was  con- 
cluded to  be  <£!()." 

The  Indian  answered,  "  that  he  would  do  his  utmost  endeavor  to 
procure  Toquattoes ;  and  for  the  charge  he  is  poor,  but  he  will  send 
to  his  friends  to  see  what  may  be  done  in  it."  He  "  desired  that  his 
chain  may  be  taken  off;  he  was  told,  then  he  would  run  away.  He 
answered  that  upon  his  running  away  he  confessed  himself  guilty, 
and  said  they  should  kill  him.  Upon  this  he  was  granted  to  be  at 
liberty,  so  that  he  appear  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  court,  which  he 
promised  to  do,  although  he  could  not  obtain  the  money."  Nothing 
seems  to  have  been  done  at  the  next  court.  The  charge  was  doubt- 
less borne  by  the  jurisdiction. 

Another  specimen  of  justice  inflicted  upon  the  English  for  wrong 
done  to  the  Indians,  is  found  under  the  date  of  the  first  of  March, 
1664.  "  Nathaniel  Tharpe  being  called  before  the  court  for  stealing 
venison  from  an  Indian  called  Ourance, — Ourance  was  called  and 
asked  what  he  had  to  say  against  Nathaniel  Tharpe.  Nasup  on  his 
behalf  declared,  that  Ourance  had  killed  a  deer,  and  hanged  some  of 
it  upon  a  tree  and  brought  some  of  it  away,  and  coming  by  (on  the 
Sabbath  day  in  the  afternoon)  Nathaniel  Tharpe's  house,  his  dog 
barked,  and  Nathaniel  Tharpe  carne  out  and  asked  Ourance,  what  he 
carry?  and  Ourance  said,  Venison,  and  further  said  that  he  had 
more  a  little  walk  in  the  woods.  Then  Nathaniel  Tharpe  said  to 
him  that  the  wolf  would  eat  it.  Ourance  said,  no,  he  had  hanged  it 


353 

upon  a  tree.  Then  he  said  that  Nathaniel  Tharpe  said  to  him,  Where, 
where  ? — and  he  told  him,  A  little  walk,  and  to-morrow  he  would 
truck  it.  Then  to-morrow  Ourance  went  for  the  venison,  and 
two  quarters  of  it  was  gone  ;  and  he  see  this  man's  track  in  the  snow, 
and  see  blood.  Then  he  came  to  Nathaniel  Tharpe  and  tell  him  that 
he  steal  his  venison  ;  but  Nathaniel  Tharpe  speak,  Ourance  lie,  and 
that  he  would  tantack  him.  And  Ourance  further  said,  that  he  whis- 
per to  Nathaniel  Tharpe,  and  told  him  if  he  would  give  him  his  veni- 
son he  would  not  discover  him ;  but  still  he  peremptorily  denied  it, 
and  told  many  lies  concerning  it,  and  after  it  was  found  in  an  out 
house  of  his,  he  said  he  had  trucked  it  the  week  before,  &c.  Nathan- 
iel Tharpe  was  asked  what  he  had  to  say  to  this  that  was  laid  against 
him  ?  He  answered,  he  should  not  deny  that  which  was  true ;  but 
that  he  said  so  often  to  him,  Where,  where  it  was,  he  did  not ;  but  he 
did  ask  him  where  he  had  been ;  and  that  he  told  him,  in  the  woods 
a  little  walk ;  and  that  which  he  had  said  before  the  magistrates  was 
the  truth,  that  he  had  a  hurry  came  upon  him  to  go  to  fetch  it;  and 
he  went  in  the  evening  after  the  Sabbath,  and  followed  the  Indian's 
track,  and  found  it.  He  said  that  his  sin  was  great,"  &c.  "  He 
was  told  seriously  of  his  sin  and  of  his  falseness" — of  which  some 
particulars  are  set  down  in  the  record ; — "  and  he  was  told  the  seve- 
ral aggravations  of  his  sin,  as  that  it  seemed  to  be  conceived  on  the 
Lord's  day,  staying  at  home  by  reason  of  some  bodily  weakness, — 
and  that  he  had  done  it  to  an  Indian,  and  to  a  poor  Indian,  and  when 
himself  had  no  need  of  it, — and  so  often  denying  it,  &-c.  whereby  he 
makes  the  English  and  their  religion  odious  to  the  heathen,  and 
thereby  hardens  them."  "  So  the  court  proceeded  to  sentence,  and 
for  his  theft  declared,  according  to  the  law  in  the  case,  that  he 
pay  double  to  the  Indian,  viz.  the  venison  with  two  bushels  of  Indian 
corn  ;  and  ,for  his  notorious  lieing,  and  the  several  aggravations  of 
his  sin,  that  he  pay  as  a  fine  to  the  plantation  20  shillings,  and  sit 
in  the  stocks  the  court's  pleasure.  And  he  was  told  that  were  it  not 
that  they  considered  him  as  sometimes  distempered  in  his  head, 
they  "should  have  been  more  sharp  with  him." 

The  first  trial  on  the  records  of  the  New  Haven  colony  is  that  of 
the  Pequot  captain.  The  last  is  the  trial  of  an  Indian  from  a  dis- 
tance, who,  for  some  abuse  offered  to  the  person  of  a  young  girl,  was 
ordered  to  be  severely  whipped  and  sent  away  to  his  own  country, 
and  warned  not  to  return  again  at  his  peril.  This  was  on  the  23d 
of  May,  1664. 

45 


354 
No.  IX. 

GOVERNOR    EATON. 

AFTER  the  death  of  Gov.  Eaton,  "there  was  found  in  his  cabinet 
a  paper  fairly  written  with  his  own  hand,  and  subscribed  also  with 
his  own  hand,  having  his  seal  also  thereunto  affixed,  as  his  last  will 
and  testament,  which  said  will  though  not  testified  by  any  witnesses, 
nor  subscribed  by  any  hands  as  witnesses,"  was  presented  to  the 
court  of  magistrates,  and  was  by  them  recognized  and  confirmed 
as  Governor  Eaton's  last  will  and  testament,  notwithstanding  the 
informality,  "  because,"  said  they,  "  his  hand  writing  is  so  well 
known  to  many  of  this  court  and  very  many  others,  that  we  do 
believe  and  judge  that  the  said  paper  was  all  written  and  sub- 
scribed with  the  said  Mr.  Eaton's  own  hand,  and  intended  by  him 
to  be  his  will  and  testament." 

The  will  begins  thus,  "  I,  Theophilus  Eaton,  sometime  of  London, 
merchant,  now  planter  in  New  Haven,  in  New  England,  at  present 
enjoying,  through  God's  goodness,  comfortable  health,  and  memory, 
but  considering  the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of  man's  life  and  my 
own  age  and  weakness,  do  make  and  ordain,"  &/c.  "First,  I  com- 
mend my  soul  into  the  hands  of  God,  reconciled  and  become  a  father 
unto  me  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord,  and  my  body,"  &c.  He  gives  to 
his  wife  one  third  part  of  his  real  estate  "  whether  in  England,  lying 
and  being  in  the  parish  of  Great  Budworth,  in  the  county  of  Chester, 
or  in  any  other  place  in  the  said  county,  or  whether  in  New  England, 
in  or  near  New  Haven  aforesaid,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  du- 
ring her  life.  He  also  gives  to  his  wife  one  third  of  the  residue  of 
his  estate,  his  debts  and  funeral  expenses  being  first  paid,  adding, 
"  and  in  token  of  my  love,  fifty  pounds  over  and  above  her  thirds." 
"And  whereas  I  received  of  Mr.  John  Evance,  sometime  of  New 
Haven,  now  settled  in  London,  by  order  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Riley  of 
London,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds  for  a  legacy  intended  for 
the  good  of  some  part  of  New  England,  though  not  so  expressed,  I 
hereby  declare  that  I  have  already  delivered  to  our  reverend  pastor, 
Mr.  John  Davenport,  certain  books  lately  belonging  to  my  brother, 
Mr.  Samuel  Eaton,  intended  for  the  use  of  a  college,  and  apprised, 
as  I  take  it,  to  about  or  near  twenty  pounds,  (as  by  my  brother's  ac- 


count  may  appear,)  as  a  part  of  the  said  hundred  pounds ;  and  further, 
I  have  disbursed  in  rigging,  iron-work,  blocks  and  other  charges, 
several  years  since,  towards  the  ship  Fellowship,  I  conceive,  the 
whole  remainder  of  the  said  ,£100,  all  which,  I  take  it,  is  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Stephen  Goodyear,  as  by  an  account  he  hath  under  my 
hand  ;  or  if  it  should  fall  any  thing  short,  my  will  and  mind  is  that  it 
be  duly  made  up  out  of  my  estate,  and  be  improved  for  the  good  of 
New  Haven,  by  the  advice  of  the  magistrates  and  elders  there." 
He  provides  for  a  settlement  of  accounts  with  his  brother  Samuel  and 
leaves  him  "  twenty  pounds  as  a  legacy."  He  gives  "  to  Mary  Low, 
daughter  to  my  sister  Frances,  the  sum  of  ten  pounds," — "to  my 
wife's  son,  Thomas  Yale,  five  pounds," — "  to  my  dear  son-in-law, 
Mr.  Hopkins,  and  to  my  reverend  pastor,  Mr.  John  Davenport,  to 
each  of  them,  ten  pounds,  as  a  small  token  of  my  love  and  respect." 
The  remainder  of  his  estate  he  orders  to  be  divided  equally  between 
his  three  children,  Mary,  Theophilus,  and  Hannah ;  only  from  Ma- 
ry's part  is  to  be  deducted  ,£200  previously  paid  for  her  to  her  hus- 
band, Valentine  Hill ;  and  "  what  shall  be  paid  out  of  my  estate  to 
answer  any  miscarriages  of  my  son  Theophilus,"  is  to  be  deducted 
from  his  portion.  His  son-in-law,  Edward  Hopkins,  and  his  wife, 
are  appointed,  executor  and  executrix.  The  instrument  is  dated 
12th  of  August,  1656. 

The  inventory  of  his  estate  in  the  colony  is  summed 

up  at  -    £1515  12  6 

To  which  was  to  be  added  for  debts  due  to  the 

estate,       -  41  00  2 

From  which  was  to  be  deducted  for  debts  due 

from  the  estate,  and  funeral  expenses,        -         115  17  1 

"So  there  rests,          -  -    ^1440157" 

He  who  reads  over  the  particulars  inventoried  will  not  fail  to  per- 
ceive that  the  governor,  as  Hubbard  says,  "maintained  a  port  in 
some  measure  answerable  to  his  place."  A  few  of  the  particulars 
are  selected. 

"  Imprimis,  all  his  wearing  apparel,         -  -    £50  00  00 

Itm.  in  plate,      -  -     107  11  00 

Itm.  in  a  piece  of  gold  20s. ,  and  in  silver,  25s.,  2  05  00 

Itm.  in  two  signet  rings  of  gold,  -         21200"* 

*  There  was  also  "a  silver  gilt  basin  and  ewer"  valued  at  £40,  which, 
being  claimed  by  Mrs.  Eaton  "  as  her  proper  estate,"  was  not  included  in 
the  inventory.  See  Mather,  II,  27. 


356 

Here  is  a  curious  illustration  of  the  scarcity  of  money.  The  rich- 
est man  in  New  Haven  with  something  like  $700  worth  of  plate  in 
his  house,  had  only  about  $10  in  money.  This  might  be  called  a 
hard  currency. 

The  articles  "  in  the  green  chamber"  were  as  follows. 

"  a  cypress  chest,       -  -    £1  10  0 

Itm.  a  cupboard  with  drawers,  45s.,  a  short  table,  6s.8d.,  2  11  8 
Itm.  a  bedstead,  10s.,  a  tapestry  covering  for  a  bed,i£4,  4  10  0 
Itm.  a  tapestry  carpet,  ,£4,  a  bed  coverlet,  13s.  4rf.,  4  13  4 
Itm.  a  green  cupboard  cloth,  26s.  8d., — another  cup- 
board cloth,  15s.,  -  2  01  8 
Itm.  6  cushions  of  Turkey  work,  a  long  window 

cushion,       -  -  2  13  4 

Itm.  2  needlework  cushions,  16s.,  6  green  cushions,  20s.,  1160 
Itm.  a  couch  with  the  appurtenances,       -  -         1  10  0 

Itm.  a  green  cupboard  cloth,  6s.  8^.,  a  green  carpet 

fringed,  30s.,  -          1  16  8 

Itm.  2  white  blankets,      -  -  1  06  8 

Itm.  a  red  cupboard  cloth  laced,  -  -  -  56 

Itm.  a  set  of  curtains  with  valance  fringed,  -          1   10  0 

Ttm.  a  down  bed,  4  pillows,  and  a  feather  bolster,  6100 

Itm.  3  white  blankets,  =£2.  10s.,  a  rug,  ,£2.  10s.,  -         5  00  0 
Itm.  a  set  of  green  curtains  and  valance,  fringed  and 

laced,  -         3  00  0 

Itm.  hangings  about  the  chamber,  -  -          2  15  0 

Itm.  a  pair  of  brass  andirons,  dogs,  fire-pans,  and 

tongs  of  brass,          -  1  10  0 

Itm.  a  short  green  carpet,  3s.  4d,f  a  great  chair,  and 

two  little  chairs,  18s.,  -  -         1  01  4 

Itm.  6  low  stools,  24s.,  a  looking  glass,  10s.,         -         1140 
Itm.  red  valance,  crewel  and  canvass,       -  10  0 

Beside  "the  green  chamber,"  there  was  "the  blue  chamber," 
with  nothing  of  "  blue  laws"  in  the  furniture, — "  the  hall,"  a  stately 
apartment  as  I  judge,  with  "  drawing  table,"  and  "  round  table," 
"  green  cushions,"  "  great  chair  with  needlework,"  "  high  chairs" 
and  "high  stools,"  "low  chairs"  and  "low  stools,"  "Turkey  car- 
pet," "  high  wine  stools,"  " great  brass  andirons,"  &-c. — "the  par- 
lor," less  considerable  than  the  hall, — "  Mrs.  Eaton's  chamber," 
with  abundant  furnishing, — "the  chamber  over  the  kitchen," — and 
"  the  other  chamber."  In  "  the  counting  house"  one  item  is, 


357 

"  books,  and  a  globe,  and  a  map,"  amounting  to  ,£48.  15s.  The 
real  estate,  consisting  of  "  the  house  with  all  the  accommodations 
thereunto,  with  the  two  farms,  and  the  half  part  of  the  mill,"  is  ap- 
prised at  ,£525. 

The  estate  of  Governor  Eaton,  was  by  a  vote  of  the  town,  freed 
from  taxes  for  a  year  after  his  death,  as  a  testimony  of  gratitude  for 
his  great  public  services.  At  the  suggestion  of  Lieut.  Nash,  it  was 
provided  that  this  should  not  be  a  precedent  for  similar  exemptions 
afterwards. 

Mrs.  Eaton,  soon  after  her  husband's  death,  returned  to  England 
with  her  children.  The  town  sent  a  man  with  her  to  Boston  at  the 
public  expense.  This  was  done,  obviously,  less  out  of  affection  to 
her  than  out  of  gratitude  to  the  memory  of  her  husband.  By  this 
removal,  Elihu  Yale,  her  grandson,  whose  name  was  afterwards 
given  to  the  college  here,  was  taken  to  England,  he  being  then  about 
ten  years  old.  To  my  mind  there  is  a  beauty  in  the  providential 
connection  between  the  family  of  Eaton  and  the  endowment  of  Yale 
College. 

The  governor  in  the  New  Haven  colony,  and  in  the  other  colo- 
nies at  that  early  day,  was  not  simply  the  head  of  the  executive  de- 
partment. He  was  chief  magistrate.  He  presided  in  all  courts, 
from  the  General  Court  for  the  jurisdiction  down  to  the  town  meet- 
ing for  New  Haven.  Eaton  was  the  ruling  mind  of  the  colony  in  all 
that  related  to  the  laws  and  the  administration  of  the  laws ;  and  if 
there  is  any  thing  to  be  ashamed  of  in  the  early  jurisprudence  of 
New  Haven,  the  disgrace  must  attach  itself  to  his  memory.  It  was 
my  intention  to  give  in  this  place,  from  the  only  authentic  sources,  a 
complete  exhibition  of  the  courts,  laws,  crimes,  and  punishments  in 
the  colony  of  New  Haven,  as  they  were  in  theory  and  in  actual  ope- 
ration. But  I  find  that  the  limits  of  this  volume  will  not  allow  me  to 
enter  upon  such  an  undertaking.  A  mere  outline  would  not  be  sat- 
isfactory, either  to  the  friends,  or  to  the  maligners,  of  the  New  Eqg.- 
Jand  fathers. 


358 
No.  X. 

THE  STATEMENT  OF  THE  NEW  HAVEN  COLON V. 

IT  was  once  said  by  a  well  informed  man,  that  the  coerced  union 
of  New  Haven  with  Connecticut  was  parallel  in  wrong  with  the  par- 
tition of  Poland.  Without  assenting  to  so  strong  an  affirmation,  \ve 
must  admit  that  the  transactions  of  that  period  on  the  part  of  Con- 
necticut, "do  not  tell  well  in  history."  There  is  a  strong  and  highly 
probable  tradition,  that  many  of  the  people  of  New  Haven  colony 
were  at  the  first  desirous  of  a  union  with  Connecticut  on  equal  terms. 
Yet  the  manner  in  which  the  Connecticut  authorities  proceeded,  not 
merely  proposing  a  union,  but  by  virtue  of  their  royal  charter  de- 
manding submission,  and  receiving  under  their  protection,  not  only 
those  towns  which  chose  to  unite  with  them,  but  even  individuals  in 
towns  which  adhered  to  their  old  organization,  seems  to  have  occa- 
sioned in  New  Haven  a  more  united  and  prolonged  resistance  to  the 
union. 

A  serious  difficulty  occurred  in  Guilford  on  the  30th  of  December, 
1663.  A  violent  and  troublesome  man,  who  had  put  himself  under 
the  protection  of  Connecticut,  finding  that  he  was  likely  to  be  called 
to  a  severe  account,  "  went  up  to  Connecticut  and  there  obtained 
two  of  their  magistrates,  marshal,  and  sundry  others  to  come  down 
with  him"  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the  jurisdiction  of  Connec- 
ticut. These  dignitaries  "  coming  into  the  town  at  an  unseasonable 
time  of  night,  their  party  by  shooting  off  sundry  guns,  caused  the 
town  to  be  alarmed  unto  great  disturbance."  Governor  Leete  sent 
away  to  Branford  and  New  Haven  for  help,  "  which  caused  both 
those  towns  to  be  alarmed  also  to  great  disturbance  the  same  night." 
Men  were  sent  over  from  New  Haven  and  Branford  to  maintain  at 
any  rate  the  authority  of  the  colony.  The  gentlemen  from  Connec- 
ticut, finding  their  force  inadequate,  appear  to  have  withdrawn, 
proposing  that  there  should  be  another  negotiation  between  the  two 
colonies,  "  wherein  they  hoped  matters  might  come  to  a  more  com- 
fortable issue."  On  this  occasion  the  General  Court  was  convened 
on  the  7th  of  January,  1664,  "  though  the  weather  proved  very  un- 
seasonable." Governor  Leete  having  told  the  whole  story,  desired 
to  know  "  whether  the  court  would  yield  so  far"  as  to  suspend  the 


359 

enforcing  of  their  authority  till  after  another  negotiation.  "But  the 
court  considering  how  fruitless  all  former  treaties  had  been,  and  that 
they  had  formerly  ordered  that  there  should  be  no  more  treaty  with 
them,  unless  they  first  restore  us  those  members,  which  they  had  so 
unrighteously  taken  from  us,  therefore  did  now  again  confirm  the 
same,  and  in  the  issue  came  to  this  conclusion,  to  desire  Mr.  Dav- 
enport and  Mr.  Street,  to  draw  up  in  writing  all  our  grievances,  and 
then,  with  the  approbation  of  as  many  of  the  committee  as  could 
come  together,  to  send  it  to  Connecticut  unto  their  General  Assem- 
bly,— which  accordingly  was  done  in  March  next."  For  that  docu- 
ment, "  with  arguments  annexed,  and  sundry  testimonies  both  from 
Guilford  and  Stamford,"  the  Secretary  refers  to  a  subsequent  page, 
where  he  says  they  are  recorded.  The  record,  however,  to  which 
he  refers,  was  never  quite  finished.  The  original,  I  am  told,  is  not 
found  among  the  archives  of  the  State  at  Hartford. 

"  The  writings  sent  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  here 
followeth  ;  and  the  first  is  called, 

"  New  Haven's  case  stated. 

"  Honored  and  beloved  in  the  Lord, — We,  the  General  Court  of 
New  Haven  colony,  being  sensible  of  the  wrongs  which  this  colony 
hath  lately  suffered  by  your  unjust  pretenses  and  encroachments 
upon  our  just  and  proper  rights,  have  unanimously  consented,  though 
with  grief  of  heart,  being  compelled  thereunto,  to  declare  unto  you, 
and  unto  all  whom  the  knowledge  thereof  may  concern,  what  your- 
selves do  or  may  know  to  be  true  as  followeth. 

"  1.  That  the  first  beginners  of  these  plantations  by  the  sea-side 
in  these  western  parts  of  New  England,  being  engaged  to  sundry 
friends  in  London,  and  in  other  places  about  London  (who  purposed 
to  plant,  some  with  them  in  the  same  town,  and  others  as  near  to 
them  as  they  might)  to  provide  for  themselves  some  convenient 
places  by  the  sea-side,  arrived  at  Boston  in  the  Massachusetts,  (hav- 
ing a  special  right  in  their  patent,  two  of  them  being  joint  purchasers 
of  it  with  others,  and  one  of  them  a  patentee,  and  one  of  the  assist- 
ants chosen  for  the  New  England  company  in  London,)  where  they 
abode  all  the  winter  following ;  but  not  finding  there  a  place  suitable 
to  their  purpose,  were  persuaded  to  view  these  parts,  which  those 
that  viewed  approved ;  and  before  their  removal,  finding  that  no 
English  were  planted  in  any  place  from  the  fort  (called  Saybrook) 


360 

to  the  Dutch,  proposed  to  purchase  of  the  Indians,  the  natural  pro- 
prietors of  those  lands,  that  whole  tract  of  land  by  the  sea-coast,  for 
themselves  and  those  that  should  come  to  them ;  which  they  also  sig- 
nified to  their  friends  in  Hartford  in  Connecticut  colony,  and  desired 
that  some  fit  men  from  thence  might  be  employed  in  that  business, 
at  their  proper  cost  and  charges  who  wrote  to  them.  Unto  which 
letter  having  received  a  satisfactory  answer,  they  acquainted  the 
Court  of  magistrates  of  Massachusetts  colony  with  their  purpose  to 
remove  and  the  grounds  of  it,  and  with  their  consent  began  a  plan- 
tation in  a  place  situated  by  the  sea,  called  by  the  Indians  Q,uillipi- 
ack ;  which  they  did  purchase  of  the  Indians  the  true  proprietors 
thereof,  for  themselves  and  their  posterity ;  and  have  quietly  pos- 
sessed the  same  about  six  and  twenty  years ;  and  have  buried 
great  estates  in  buildings,  fencings,  clearing  the  ground,  and  in  all 
sorts  of  husbandry ;  without  any  help  from  Connecticut  or  depen- 
dence on  them.  And  by  voluntary  consent  among  themselves,  they 
settled  a  civil  court  and  government  among  themselves,  upon  such 
fundamentals  as  were  established  in  Massachusetts  by  allowance  of 
their  patent,  whereof  the  then  governor  of  the  Bay,  the  Right  Wor- 
shipful Mr.  Winthrop,  sent  us  a  copy  to  improve  for  our  best  advan- 
tage. These  fundamentals  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Quillipi- 
ack  approved,  and  bound  themselves  to  submit  unto  and  maintain ; 
and  chose  Theophilus  Eaton,  Esq.  to  be  their  governor,  with  as  good 
right  as  Connecticut  settled  their  government  among  themselves,  and 
continued  it  above  twenty  years  without  any  patent.* 

"  2.  That  when  the  help  of  Mr.  Eaton  our  governor,  and  some 
others  from  Quillipiack,  was  desired  for  ending  of  a  controversy  at 
Wethersfield,  a  town  in  Connecticut  colony,  it  being  judged  neces- 
sary for  peace  that  one  party  should  remove  their  dwellings,  upon 
equal  satisfying  terms  proposed,  the  Governor,  magistrates,  &/c.  of 
Connecticut  offered  for  their  part,  that  if  the  party  that  would  re- 
move should  find  a  fit  place  to  plant  in  upon  the  river,  Connecticut 
would  grant  it  to  them  ;  and  the  Governor  of  Quillipiack  (now  called 
New  Haven)  and  the  rest  there  present,  joined  with  him,  and  prom- 
ised that  if  they  should  find  a  fit  place  for  themselves  by  the  sea-side, 

*  Connecticut,  in  the  year  1644,  purchased  of  the  Lords  Say-and-Seal, 
Brook  and  others,  their  establishment  at  Saybrook  and  their  patent  under 
the  earl  of  Warwick,  the  bounds  of  which  were  the  same  with  the  bounds 
afterwards  given  to  the  colony  by  the  charter  of  1662.  See  Trumbull,  I, 
27, 148.  The  patent  proved  to  be  of  no  value. 


361 

New  Haven  would  grant  it  to  them,  which  accordingly  New  Haven 
performed ;  and  so  the  town  of  Stamford  began,  and  became  a  mem- 
ber of  New  Haven  colony,  and  so  continueth  unto  this  day.  Thus 
in  a  public  assembly  in  Connecticut,  was  the  distinct  right  of  Con- 
necticut upon  the  river  and  of  New  Haven  by  the  sea-side,  declared, 
with  the  consent  of  the  governor,  magistrates,  ministers  and  better 
sort  of  the  people  of  Connecticut  at  the  time. 

"  3.  That  sundry  other  townships  by  the  sea-side  and  Southold  on 
Long  Island,  (being  settled  in  their  inheritances  by  right  of  pur- 
chase of  their  Indian  proprietors,)  did  voluntarily  join  themselves  to 
New  Haven,  to  be  all  under  one  jurisdiction,  by  a  firm  engagement 
to  the  fundamentals  formerly  settled  in  New  Haven  ;  whereupon  it 
was  called  New  Haven  Colony.  The  General  Court,  being  thus 
constituted,  chose  the  said  Theophilus  Eaton,  Esq.,  a  man  of  singu- 
lar wisdom,  godliness  and  experience,  to  be  the  governor  of  New 
Haven  Colony  ;  and  they  chose  a  competent  number  of  magistrates 
and  other  officers  for  the  several  towns.  Mr.  Eaton  so  well  man- 
aged that  great  trust,  that  he  was  chosen  governor  every  year  while 
he  lived.  All  this  time  Connecticut  never  questioned  what  was  done 
at  New  Haven  ;  nor  pretended  any  right  to  it,  or  to  any  of  the  towns 
belonging  to  this  colony  ;  nor  objected  against  our  being  a  distinct 
colony. 

"  4.  That  when  the  Dutch  claimed  a  right  to  New  Haven,  and 
all  along  the  coast  by  the  sea-side,  it  being  reported  they  would  set 
up  the  Prince  of  Orange's  arms,  the  governor  of  New  Haven,  to 
prevent  that,  caused  the  king  of  England's  arms  to  be  fairly  cut  in 
wood,  and  set  upon  a  post  in  the  highway  by  the  sea-side,*  to  vindi- 
cate the  right  of  the  English,  without  consulting  Connecticut  or  seek- 
ing their  concurrence  therein. 

"  5.  That  in  the  year  1643,  upon  weighty  considerations,  an  union 
of  four  distinct  colonies  was  agreed  upon  by  all  New  England,  (ex- 
cept Rhode  Island,)  in  their  several  general  courts,  and  was  estab- 
lished by  a  most  solemn  confederation  ;  whereby  they  bound  them- 
selves mutually  to  preserve  unto  each  colony  its  entire  jurisdiction 
within  itself,  respectively,  and  to  avoid  the  putting  of  two  into  one 
by  any  act  of  their  own  without  consent  of  the  commissioners  from 
the  four  United  Colonies,  which  were  from  that  time,  and  still  are, 


*  This  was  done  in  Feb.  1648,  and  the  record  of  it  is  the  only  allusion  to 
the  king  which  I  find  before  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy  in  1660. 

46 


362 

called  and  known  by  the  title  of  the  four  United  Colonies  of  New 
England.  Of  these  colonies,  New  Haven  was  and  is  one.  And 
in  this  solemn  confederation  Connecticut  joined  with  the  rest,  and 
with  us. 

"  6.  That  in  the  year  1644,  the  general  court  for  New  Haven 
colony,  then  sitting  in  the  town  of  New  Haven,  agreed  unanimously 
to  send  to  England  for  a  patent ;  and  in  the  year  1645,  committed 
the  procuring  of  it  to  Mr.  Grigson,  one  of  our  magistrates,  who  en- 
tered upon  his  voyage  in  January  that  year,  from  New  Haven,  fur- 
nished with  some  beaver  in  order  thereunto  as  we  suppose.  But  by 
the  providence  of  God,  the  ship  and  all  the  passengers  and  goods 
were  lost  at  sea,  in  their  passage  towards  England,  to  our  great 
[grief]  and  the  frustration  of  the  design  for  the  time ;  after  which 
the  troubles  in  England  put  a  stop  to  our  proceedings  therein.  This 
was  done  with  the  consent  and  desire  of  Connecticut  to  concur  with 
New  Haven  therein.  Whereby  the  difference  of  times,  and  of  men's 
spirits  in  them,  may  be  discovered.  For  then  the  magistrates  of  Con- 
necticut with  consent  of  their  general  court,  knowing  our  purposes, 
desired  to  join  with  New  Haven  in  procuring  the  patent,  for  common 
privileges  to  both  in  their  different  jurisdictions,  and  left  it  to  Mr.  Ea- 
ton's wisdom  to  have  the  patent  framed  accordingly.  But  now  they 
seek  to  procure  a  patent  without  the  concurrence  of  New  Haven ; 
and  contrary  to  our  minds  expressed  before  the  patent  was  sent  for, 
and  to  their  own  promise,  and  to  the  terms  of  the  confederation,  and 
without  sufficient  warrant  from  their  patent,  they  have  invaded  our 
right,  and  seek  to  involve  New  Haven  under  Connecticut  jurisdic- 
tion. 

"7.  That  in  the  year  1646,  when  the  commissioners  first  met  at 
New  Haven,  Keift,  the  then  Dutch  governor,  by  letters  expostulated 
with  the  commissioners,  by  what  warrant  they  met  at  New  Haven 
without  his  consent,  seeing  it  and  all  the  sea-coast  belonged  to  his 
principals  in  Holland,  and  to  the  Lords  the  States  General.  The  an- 
swer to  that  letter  was  framed  by  Mr.  Eaton,  governor  of  New  Haven 
and  then  president  of  the  commission,  approved  by  all  the  commis- 
sioners, and  sent  in  their  names  with  their  consent  to  the  then  Dutch 
governor,  who  never  replied  thereunto. 

"  8.  That  this  colony  in  the  reign  of  the  late  King  Charles  the 
first,  received  a  letter  from  the  committee  of  Lords  and  Commons 
for  foreign  plantations,  then  sitting  at  Westminster,  which  letter  was 
delivered  to  our  governor,  Mr.  Eaton,  for  freeing  the  several  distinct 


363 

colonies  of  New  England  from  molestations  by  the  appealing  of 
troublesome  spirits  unto  England,  whereby  they  declared  that  they 
had  dismissed  all  causes  depending  before  them  from  New  England, 
and  that  they  advised  all  inhabitants  to  submit  to  their  respective 
governments  there  established,  and  to  acquiesce  when  their  causes 
shall  be  there  heard  and  determined,  as  it  is  to  be  seen  more  largely 
expressed  in  the  original  letter  which  we  have,  subscribed,  '  Your 
assured  friends, 

'  PEMBROKE,  '  MANCHESTER,  '  WARWICK, 

'  W.  SAY  AND  SEAL,    '  FR.  DACRE,  &c.         '  DENBIGH.' 

"  In  this  order  they  subscribed  their  names  with  their  own  hands, 
which  we  have  to  show,  and  they  inscribed  or  directed  this  letter — 
'  To  our  worthy  friends  the  governor  and  assistants  of  the  plantations 
of  New  Haven  in  New  England.'  Whereby  you  may  clearly  see 
that  the  right  honorable,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  and  the  Lord  Vis- 
count Say  and  Seal,  (lately  one  of  his  majesty  King  Charles  the  sec- 
ond's most  honorable  privy  council,  as  also  the  right  honorable  Earl 
of  Manchester  still  is,)  had  no  purpose,  after  New  Haven  colony,  sit- 
uated by  the  sea-side,  was  settled  to  be  a  distinct  government,  that 
it  should  be  put  under  the  patent  for  Connecticut,  whereof  they  had 
only  framed  a  copy  before  any  house  was  erected  by  the  sea-side 
from  the  fort  to  the  Dutch,  which  yet  was  not  signed  and  sealed  by 
the  last  king  for  a  patent ;  nor  had  you  any  patent  till  your  agent, 
Mr.  Winthrop,  procured  it  about  two  years  since. 

"  9.  That  in  the  year  1650,  when  the  commissioners  for  the  four 
united  colonies  of  New  England,  met  at  Hartford,  the  now  Dutch 
governor  being  then  and  there  present,  Mr.  Eaton  the  then  governor 
of  New  Haven  colony,  complained  of  the  Dutch  governor's  encroach- 
ing upon  our  colony  of  New  Haven,  by  taking  under  his  jurisdiction 
a  township  beyond  Stamford,  called  Greenwich.  AH  the  commis- 
sioners, (as  well  for  Connecticut  as  for  the  other  colonies,)  concluded 
that  Greenwich  and  four  miles  beyond  it  belongs  to  New  Haven  ju- 
risdiction ;  whereunto  the  Dutch  governor  then  yielded,  and  restored 
it  to  New  Haven  colony.  Thus  were  our  bounds  westward  settled 
by  consent  of  all. 

"  10.  That  when  the  honored  governor  of  Connecticut,  John 
Winthrop,  Esq.,  had  consented  to  undertake  a  voyage  for  England 
to  procure  a  patent  for  Connecticut  in  the  year  1661,  a  friend  warned 
him  by  letter,  not  to  have  his  hand  in  so  unrighteous  an  act,  as.  so 
far  to  extend  the  line  of  their  patent,  that  the  colony  of  New  Haven 


364 

should  be  involved  within  it.  For  answer  thereunto,  he  was  pleased 
to  certify  that  friend,  in  two  letters  which  he  wrote  from  two  several 
places  before  his  departure,  that  no  such  thing  was  intended,  but 
rather  the  contrary ;  and  that  the  magistrates  had  agreed  and  ex- 
pressed in  the  presence  of  some  ministers,  that  if  their  line  should 
reach  us,  (which  they  knew  not,  the  copy  being  in  England,)  yet 
New  Haven  colony  should  be  at  liberty  to  join  with  them  or  not. 
This  agreement,  so  attested,  made  us  secure,  who  also  could  have 
procured  a  patent  for  ourselves  within  our  own  known  bounds  ac- 
cording to  purchase,  without  doing  any  wrong  to  Connecticut  in 
their  just  bounds  and  limits. 

"11.  That  notwithstanding  all  the  premises,  in  the  year  1662, 
when  you  had  received  your  patent  under  his  majesty's  hand  and 
seal,  contrary  to  your  promise  and  solemn  confederation,  and  to 
common  equity,  at  your  first  general  assembly,  (which  yet  could  not 
be  called  general  without  us,  if  we  were  under  your  patent,  seeing 
none  of  us  were  by  you  called  thereunto,)  you  agreed  among  your- 
selves, to  treat  with  New  Haven  colony  about  union,  by  your  com- 
missioners chosen  for  that  end  within  two  or  three  days  after  the 
assembly  was  dissolved.  But  before  the  ending  of  that  session,  you 
made  an  unrighteous  breach  in  our  colony,  by  taking  under  your 
patent  some  of  ours  from  Stamford,  and  from  Guilford,  and  from 
Southold,  contrary  to  your  engagements  to  New  Haven  colony, 
and  without  our  consent  or  knowledge.  This  being  thus  done, 
some  sent  from  you  to  treat  with  us,  showed  some  of  ours  your 
patent ;  which  being  read,  they  declared  to  yours  that  New  Haven 
colony  is  not  at  all  mentioned  in  your  patent,  and  gave  you  some 
reasons  why  they  believed  that  the  king  did  not  intend  to  put  this 
colony  under  Connecticut  without  our  desire  or  knowledge;  and 
they  added  that  you  took  a  preposterous  course,  in  first  dismembering 
this  colony,  and  after  that  treating  with  it  about  union  ;  which  is  as 
if  one  man  proposing  to  treat  with  another  about  union,  first  cut  off 
from  him  an  arm,  and  a  leg,  and  an  ear,  then  to  treat  with  him 
about  union.  Reverend  Mr.  Stone  also,  the  teacher  of  the  Church 
at  Hartford,  was  one  of  the  committee,  who  being  asked  what  he 
thought  of  this  action,  answered,  that  he  would  not  justify  it. 

"  12.  After  that  conference,  our  committee  sent,  by  order  of  the 
General  Court,  by  two  of  our  magistrates,  and  two  of  our  elders,  a 
writing  containing  sundry  other  reasons  for  our  not  joining  with  you  ; 
who  ajso,  finding  that  you  persisted  in  your  own  will  and  way,  de- 


365 

clared  to  you  our  own  resolution  to  appeal  to  his  majesty  to  explain 
his  true  intendraent  and  meaning  in  your  patent,  whether  it  was  to 
subject  this  colony  under  it  or  not ;  being  persuaded,  as  we  still  are, 
that  it  neither  was  nor  is  his  royal  will  and  pleasure  to  confound  this 
colony  with  yours,  which  would  destroy  the  so  long  continued  and 
so  strongly  settled  distinction  of  the  four  United  Colonies  of  Neio 
England,  without  our  desire  or  knowledge. 

"  13.  That,  accordingly,  we  forthwith  sent  our  appeal  to  be  hum- 
bly presented  to  his  Majesty,  by  some  friends  in  London,  yet  out  of 
our  dear  and  tender  respect  to  Mr.  Winthrop's  peace  and  honor, 
some  of  us  advised  those  friends  to  communicate  our  papers  to  Hon- 
ored Mr.  Winthrop  himself,  to  the  end  that  we  might  find  out  some 
effectual  expedient,  to  put  a  good  end  to  this  uncomfortable  difference 
between  you  and  us, — else  to  present  our  humble  address  to  his  Ma- 
jesty. Accordingly  it  was  done ;  and  Mr.  Winthrop  stopped  the 
proceeding  of  our  appeal,  by  undertaking  to  our  friends  that  * 
******* 

[Here  the  hand  of  the  Secretary  rested ;  and  before  he  found  time 
to  finish  the  transcript,  the  New  Haven  jurisdiction  had  ceased 
to  be.] 


366 

No.  XL 

LETTERS  FROM  JOHN  DAVENPORT  TO  GOV.  WINTHROP. 

[THE  following  letters  are  from  the  autographs  in  the  possession 
of  Francis  B.  Winthrop,  Esq.,  of  this  city.  They  have  never  before 
been  published ;  though  they  are  occasionally  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Savage,  who  had  access  to  them  in  preparing  his  invaluable  edition 
of  Winthrop's  History.] 

I. 

Worthily  honored  Sir, — Upon  frequent  reports  of  God's  gracious 
blessing  your  labors  with  good  success  in  sundry  cases,  I  was  de- 
sirous to  have  made  a  journey  to  Pequot  to  confer  with  you  about 
the  state  of  my  body,  and  desired  Brother  Andrews  to  signify  the 
same  unto  you,  by  whom  I  understand  that  there  is  no  conveniency 
for  mine,  and  my  wife's,  and  my  son's  lodging,  and  other  accommo- 
dations there,  and  that  yourself  are  upon  a  journey  shortly  for  the 
Bay.  I  have  therefore  hired  this  Indian  to  be  the  bearer  of  these 
lines,  and  pray  you  to  return  by  him  your  advice,  not  concerning  my 
distemper,  which  I  cannot  so  fully  declare  by  writing,  to  your  satis- 
faction and  my  own,  as  is  meet,  but  concerning  my  way.  My  wife 
inclineth  to  our  traveling  with  you  to  Boston,  if  you  judge  that  a 
place  and  time  fit  for  me  to  enter  into  any  course  of  physic;  but  I 
hear  the  apothecary  wants  supplies  of  things,  unless  Carwithy  be 
come ;  and  I  hear  that  Mr.  Ling,  &.C.,  newly  returned  from  the  Bay, 
saw  a  vessel  at  sea,  about  200  tons,  Coming  towards  Boston,  and  I 
fear  that  your  business  there  will  not  permit  liberty  for  that,  and  that 
my  body  and  the  season  will  not  suit  it ;  yet  if  you  advise  it  as  con- 
venient, I  shall  consider  what  you  propound.  If  not,  my  desire  is  to 
know  when  you  purpose  to  return  if  God  please.  I  was  glad  when 
he  told  me  that  you  had  some  purpose  of  coming  into  these  parts  ; 
and  shall  be  more  glad  if  I  may  understand  from  yourself  that  you 
continue  that  resolution,  and  will  be  pleased  to  put  it  into  execution 
at  your  return  from  the  Bay,  and  to  accept  of  my  house  for  your  en- 
tertainment during  your  abode  in  these  parts,  there  to  refresh  your- 
self with  assurance  that  you  shall  be  most  heartily  welcome  to  us. 
If  you  require  it,  for  the  preparing  of  directions  suitable  to  my  case, 


367 

that  I  give  you  notice  of  it  particularly  beforehand,  I  shall  by  the 
next  opportunity,  answer  your  desires,  upon  notice  when  my  letter 
may  probably  find  you  at  home  ;  or  if  you  encourage  me  to  come  to 
Pequot  after  your  return,  we  shall  attend  you  there.  But  if  you  can 
afford  me  some  liberty  of  discourse  with  you  here,  before  you  journey 
to  the  Bay,  I  think  that  would  be  best ;  and  I  should  be  very  much 
obliged  unto  you  for  that  your  labor  of  love.  However,  let  me  re- 
ceive such  answer  as  you  can,  by  this  bearer.  Present  my  true  re- 
spects to  Mrs.  Winthrop,  with  loving  salutations  to  Mr.  Blinman. 
The  Lord  Jesus  dwell  with  you  in  peace !  In  whom  I  rest. 
Sir,  yours  assured, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  this  20th  d.  of  the  6th  m.  1653.  [Aug.  20th,  1653.] 

To  his  honored  friend,  JOHN  WiNTHiiop/Esq.,  these  present  in 
PEQUOT. 

II. 

Hand.  Sir, — Your  welcome  lines  dated  Jan.  16,  I  received  by 
this  Indian,  and  read  with  gladness,  giving  thanks  to  God  and  you ; 
— to  God  for  your  health,  and  the  health  of  your  family  and  town; — 
to  you  for  your  loving  remembrance  of  me  and  mine,  and  for  your 
mindfulness  to  prepare  for  us  against  the  fit  season,  as  also  for  my 
brother  Hooke,  who  returneth  by  my  pen  hearty  thanks  for  your  re- 
spects towards  him,  which  I  signified  unto  him.  The  winter  hath 
been  extraordinarily  long,  and  sharp,  and  sickly  among  us.  Sundry 
have  been  afflicted  with  pain  in  their  head  and  sides,  and  stoppings 
at  their  breasts ;  some  were  taken  with  great  cold  and  shivering, 
others  with  sweating,  but  most  with  inward  cold.  Some  are  taken 
away  by  death,  viz.  four  of  this  Church,  and  some  of  the  town,  be- 
sides children ;  but  most  are  restored  to  health  again,  though  slowly. 
Your  presence  with  us  this  winter  might  have  been  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  a  great  blessing  to  the  whole  town.  I  hope  the  season 
will  shortly  be  altered ;  and  then  I  desire  that  we  may  proceed  unto 
further  use  of  means,  for  the  perfecting  of  what  remains  to  be  attended 
in  order  to  my  health  by  the  blessing  of  God,  whereby  I  found  some 
good  as  I  apprehend,  in  the  strengthening  of  my  spirits  for  perform- 
ance of  my  ministerial  work  this  winter,  with  some  abatement  of  one 
cause  of  my  weakness,  whereof  I  gave  you  notice,  though  it  still 
abideth  with  me  in  some  degree.  My  family  hath  been  kept  from 
the  common  sickness  in  this  town,  by  the  goodness  and  mercy  of 


368 

God,  this  winter ;  only  Edmund,  my  man-servant,  hath  been  exer- 
cised with  it  near  unto  death,  but  he  is  now,  through  the  mercy  of 
God,  in  an  hopeful  way  of  recovery.  I  have  received  some  letters 
from  England  in  Trumboll's  vessel,  whereby  I  perceive  that  things 
are  there  in  a  doubtful  state ;  and  because  I  should  be  too  tedious  if 
I  should  relate  particulars,  I  send  you  by  this  bearer,  such  books  of 
intelligence  as  were  sent  me, — and  in  the  same  yo  i  will  find  enclosed 
some  notes  of  the  cases  of  some  among  us  who  desire  to  improve  this 
opportunity  to  crave  your  advice  and  help.  It  is  a  singular  fruit  of 
God's  favor  to  you,  that  he  is  pleased  to  make  you  his  instrument  in 
doing  good  to  many.  Yet  I  would  not  that  your  family  should  be 
endamaged  thereby,  which  cannot  be  without  guilt  of  unthankfulness 
in  them  who  return  not  according  to  the  benefit  received.  The  fleet 
is  gone  from  England  for  Hispaniola.  Mr.  Winslow  is  one  of  the 
council,  not  governor  for  aught  T  can  learn.  The  small  pox  hath 
been  the  death  of  many  in  England,  and  the  spotted  fever.  Capt. 
Astwood  of  Milford,  is  there  dead,  having  first  taken  a  great  cold 
after  his  arrival,  whereupon  he  was  smitten  with  a  dead  palsy  on  one 
side,  of  which  he  died.  I  hope  we  shall  enjoy  your  much  desired 
company,  with  Mrs.  Winthrop,  at  our  house,  sometime  this  month, 
where  you  may  be  assured  of  hearty  welcome  as  the  best  part  of 
your  entertainment.  The  Lord  Jesus  dwell  with  you  in  peace  and 
loving  kindness;  to  whose  grace  I  commend  you  and  yours,  affec- 
tionately, with  respective  salutations  of  yourself  and  Mrs.  Winthrop, 
and  Mrs.  Lake,  in  both  our  names.  I  rest  in  him, 
Yours  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 

Mrs.  Disborough  and  Goodman  Jones  of  Guilford,  died  of  the 
small  pox,  in  England  or  Scotland.  Mrs.  Bressey,  [Bracie]  a  mem- 
ber of  this  Church,  hath  buried  three  children  in  a  month,  of  the 
small  pox,  in  England  ;  yet  it  is  thought  by  some  that  the  third  child 
died  of  the  plague,  as  Mrs.  Evance  informeth  me;  but  Mrs.  Bressey 
in  her  letter  to  me  saith  they  all  died  of  the  small  pox.  I  find  myself 
somewhat  weaker  in  my  spirits,  and  in  my  back,  since  our  last  Fast, 
which  was  ten  days  ago. 

To  his  honored  friend,  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  these  present  at 
PEQTJOT.* 

*  No  date  is  given  to  this  letter.  From  the  contents,  however,  it  appears 
to  have  be«n  written  at  the  close  of  the  winter  of  1654-5, — ten  days  after 


369 

III. 

Honored  Sir, — It  troubled  me  not  a  little  that  the  want  of  a  pil- 
lion to  carry  my  wife,  and  of  horses  to  bring  us  back  from  Brother 
Moulthrop's,  and  some  business  to  be  attended  by  appointment  at 
three  o'clock  that  afternoon  in  the  town,  compelled  us  to  part  with 
you  at  the  water-side,  whom  we  purposed  to  accompany  unto  his 
farm.  But  I  hope  the  Lord  brought  you  safe  and  well  to  your  family, 
and  there  comforted  you  with  the  effects  of  his  good  providence  to- 
wards yours  in  their  welfare.  Mr.  Samuel  Eaton  and  his  wife  re- 
turned lately  from  Hartford  where  they  were  both  ill.  They  say  it's 
thought  that  air  is  infected  at  present.  Sundry  have  been  exercised 
with  a  distemper  like  to  that  which  prevailed  here  the  last  winter ; 
but  they  are  in  a  hopeful  way  of  recovery  ;  and  Capt.  Conant  is  bet- 
ter. They  have  put  such  household  stuff  as  they  shall  have  use  of, 
into  a  vessel  bound  hithervvard,  purposing  to  keep  house  here.  The 
three  weeks,  during  which  you  purposed  to  be  absent  from  us,  are 
now  expired  ;  therefore  here  is  now  a  general  expectation  of  your  re- 
turn. For  which  cause,  Brother  Moulthrop  is  sent  to  wait  upon  you, 
or  to  know  the  precise  time  thereof,  that  horses  may  be  seasonably 
sent  to  meet  you  at  the  river's  mouth,  (so  many  as  may  suit  your 
family,)  and  that  something  may  be  done  towards  the  fitting  of  your 
house  for  their  entertainment.  My  earnest  and  hearty  desire  is, 
that  you  would  be  pleased  to  accept  this  town's  offer,  and  to  settle 
your  habitation  among  us,  though  you  should  dwell  here  but  some 
part  of  the  year,  and  another  part  at  Pequot  or  wheresoever  else  your 
occasions  may  invite  you  to  be.  My  wife  joineth  with  me  in  that 
request,  and  in  presenting  respective  and  affectionate  salutations  to 
yourself,  with  Mrs.  Winthrop  and  Mrs.  Lake ;  and  she  prayeth  you 
to  be  assured  that  any  thing  we  have  shall  be  at  your  service.  Sister 
Glover,  newly  returned  from  Long  Island,  puts  us  in  fear  that  you  are 
in  some  thoughts  about  transporting  your  family  to  the  Bay  or  to 
Connecticut;  but  I  cannot  believe  either,  though  I  believe  you  may 
be  inclined  to  both.  I  hope  that  this  messenger  will  put  a  period  to 

the  fast.  At  a  General  Court  convened  that  winter,  on  the  30th  of  January, 
"  the  court  considering  the  sad  state  of  things  in  old  England,  our  native 
country,  as  appears  by  what  intelligence  they  have  received  from  thenco 
since  they  came  together,  thought  it  their  duty  to  set  a  day  apart  in  the 
whole  jurisdiction,  for  humiliation  and  solemn  seeking  of  God,"  &c.,  "  which 
will  be  on  the  last  day  of  February  next."  Ten  days  after  that  fast,  would 
make  the  date  of  the  letter  10,  1,  1654,  [10  March,  1655.] 
47 


370 

all  such  intimations,  either  by  your  personal  return  with  him  hither, 
or  by  some  letter  from  you  signifying  the  determined  time  when  we 
may  expect  you.  For  you  freely  promised  to  stay  with  us  at  least  a 
month  or  six  weeks  this  spring,  for  the  carrying  on  further  what  you 
have  begun  in  my  case  and  Mrs.  Hopkins's,  &c.  Then  we  shall 
have  opportunity  of  conferring  de  futuris.  In  the  mean  time,  and 
ever,  the  good  Lord  recompense  all  your  labor  of  love  an  hundred 
fold  unto  you  and  your  family,  and  make  your  journey  to  us  speedy 
and  prosperous  ;  in  whom  I  rest, 

Your  obliged  and  thankful  friend  and  servant,  in  any  office  of  love, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 

New  Haven,  this  14th  day  of  the  2d  m.  1655  [Apr.  14, 1655.] 

Mr.  Pell,  they  say,  reports  at  Milford  that  the  Dutch  governor  is 
slain  by  Spaniards  ;  scd  ubi,  quomodo,  quando,  quare,  nondum  constat. 

POSTSCRIPT. — Upon  a  confident  report  that  you  was  gone  to  the 
Bay,  Bro.  Moulthrop  staid ;  and  so  my  letter,  though  sealed,  was  not 
sent  yesterday.  Another  report  said  that  a  pinnace  was  sent  from 
the  Bay  to  fetch  you  ;  but  you  could  not  go,  being  hindered  by  sick- 
ness. This  report  excited  me  to  speak  with  our  governor  that  one 
might  be  sent  speedily  ;  and  I  hope  Bro.  Moulthrop  will  not  be  pre- 
vented to  be  our  messenger.  Also  it  occasioned  my  opening  of  my 
letter  again,  and  adding  this  postscript,  to  certify  you  that  I  both  pray 
and  long  to  hear  of  your  recovery,  and  have  good  hopes  through  the 
mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  you  shall  live  to  do  him  much 
more  service  in  the  land  of  the  living.  Only  let  us  know  how  it  is 
with  you  speedily,  and  when  we  shall  expect  you,  and  what  you  will 
have  done  about  the  house  and  lot ;  and  be  assured  that  you  are  in 
our  hearts,  and  in  my  prayers  that  your  soul  may  be  bound  up  in  the 
bundle  of  life  with  the  Lord  our  God,  in  Jesus  Christ,  your  Lord  and 
ours,  in  whom  I  rest. 

This  19th  d.  of  the  2d  m.  1655. 

To  the  right  worshipful,  his  worthily  honored  friend,  JOHN  WIN- 
THROP,  Esq.,  these  present  in  PEQUOT. 

IV. 

Sir, — Joseph  Alsop  being  now  returned  from  the  Bay,  we  have 
taken  the  first  opportunity  of  sending  him  with  his  vessel,  to  accom- 
modate your  much  desired  transportation,  with  your  family,  unto  us. 
Be  pleased  to  accept  this  as  a  testimony  of  the  reality  and  fervency 
of  our  desire  to  enjoy  your  much  longed  for  and  worthily  much  es- 


371 

teemed  presence  with  us,  and  to  favor  us  with  a  suitable  answer,  in 
assurance  that  none  can  be  more  welcome  here  than  you  and  yours, 
nor  can  you  and  they  be  more  welcome  to  any  than  to  us.  Sir,  I 
have  received  from  England  almost  all  the  particulars  you  appointed 
me  to  write  for,  which  I  desire  you  may  see  and  dispose  of  as  you 
shall  find  best.  Salute  Mrs.  Winthrop  and  Mrs.  Lake  affectionately 
in  both  our  names.  My  son  presents  his  humble  service  to  you. 
The  good  Lord  recompense  all  your  labors  of  love  towards  me  an 
hundred  fold,  and  make  your  passage  safe  and  speedy,  and  comfort- 
able; in  whom  I  rest, 

Sir,  yours  to  honor  and  serve  you  in  the  Lord, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  the  6th  d.  of  the  5th  m.  [July,]  1655. 

My  wife  hath  not  been  well,  but  weak  sand  feeble  spirited  this 
week. 

To  the  right  worshipful,  his  much  honored  friend,  JOHN  WIN- 
THROP, Esq.,  these  present  in  PEQUOT. 

V. 

Honored  Sir, — By  Joseph  Alsop  we  did  expect  your  arrival  with 
your  family  here,  and  your  abode  with  us  this  winter.  But  instead 
of  yourself  I  received  your  lines,  whereby  I  understand  that  your 
real  purpose  of  transporting  your  family,  was,  contrary  to  your  ex- 
pectation, utterly  disappointed.  If  you  knew  how  much  our  hopes  of 
enjoying  you  with  us  comforted  us,  you  would  easily  apprehend  how 
much  the  frustration  of  them  damped  us.  And  if  Mrs.  Winthrop 
knew  how  welcome  she  would  be  unto  us,  she  would  neglect  what- 
soever others  may  suggest  to  discourage  her  from  coming  to  us. 
And  because  I  understood  by  Joseph  Alsop  how  boisterously  some  of 
your  plantation  opposed  your  voyage,  with  your  family,  to  us  ward, 
and  intimated  that  the  vessel  was  rotten  and  your  lives  would  be  en- 
dangered by  the  voyage,  I  signified  in  a  letter  which  I  sent  to  you  by 
Higby,  that  on  the  Lord's  day  after  his  departure  from  Pequot,  which 
was  the  next  day  after  the  date  of  your  letter  to  me,  as  I  remember, 
Joseph  Alsop  gave  public  thanks  in  the  congregation  for  his  safe  and 
comfortable  passage.  And  that  you  might  know  what  preparation 
was  made  for  your  comfortable  being  in  your  house  this  winter,  I 
showed  in  the  same  letter  how  careful  and  active  my  wife  hath  been 
to  procure  hands  to  prepare  your  house,  whereby  your  well  is  clean- 
sed, and  a  new  pump  set  up,  and  the  rooms  are  made  warm,  and 


372 

tables,  with  some  chairs,  are  provided.  The  twenty  loads  of  wood 
you  mentioned  are  ready,  and  some  already  laid  in.  The  rest  wait 
but  for  your  coming.  Also  thirty  bushels  of  wheat,  and  fifty  pounds 
of  candles ;  which  together  with  other  things,  I  signified  that  you  may 
see,  and  Mrs.  Winthrop  also,  how  earnestly  your  coming  to  us  is  ex- 
pected and  desired.  You  will  now  receive  some  farther  intelligence 
from  Mr.  Goodyear,  concerning  the  iron-work,  unto  which  there  is 
a  great  forwardness  among  the  people  generally,  which  it  seems  is 
somewhat  checked  by  your  absence  at  this  time.  Sir,  I  thank  you 
for  the  books  you  sent  me  to  read,  which  I  am  diligently  perusing. 
My  wife  took  care  of  your  apples  that  they  may  be  kept  safe  from 
the  frost,  that  Mrs.  Winthrop  might  have  the  benefit  of  them.  Now 
the  Lord  pave  your  way  to  us,  and  make  your  journey  safe,  comfort- 
able and  prosperous ;  in  whom  I  rest, 

Yours,  exceedingly  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  the  last  of  the  9th,  '55,  [30th  Nov.  1655.] 

Sir,  I  forgat  to  give  you  notice,  that  my  wife  hath  provided  for 
Mrs.  Winthrop  a  cleanly,  thrifty  maid  servant,  sister  Beckley's 
daughter,  whom  she  kept  from  a  service  at  Connecticut,  where  she 
was  much  desired,  in  expectation  of  your  coming. 

To  his  loorthity  much  honored  friend,  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq., 
these  present  in  PEQUOT. 

VI. 

Honored  Sir, — A  report  that  you  was  gone  to  the  Bay,  put  me 
from  my  purpose  of  sending  the  enclosed,  till  I  might  certainly  know 
where  my  letter  might  find  you.  I  have  now  received  intelligence 
by  John  Thomas,  that  you  are  at  Hartford,  and  that  Mrs.  Winthrop 
hath  been  very  ill  and  in  great  danger  of  her  life,  but  is  now,  by  the 
mercy  of  God,  recovered.  Blessed  be  his  name  for  this  mercy  to  her 
and  to  yourself  and  yours,  in  her  recovery.  But  withal  he  saith  that 
yourself  are  very  ill,  and  have  taken  physic  this  day,  and  that  he 
staid  three  hours  to  understand  how  it  wrought,  and  is  informed  that 
it  wrought  well.  This  giveth  us  some  ground  of  hope  that  God  will 
graciously  bless  the  means  for  restoring  your  health,  whose  life  we 
account  exceeding  precious,  and  a  blessing  to  many.  He  who  hath 
given  you  a  merciful  heart  to  others  in  their  sickness,  hath  promised 
that  you  also  shall  obtain  mercy.  We  are  not  wanting  to  you  in  our 
prayers,  since  we  heard  of  your  state,  which  was  but  this  night ;  nor 


373 

shall  we  cease  from  praying  for  your  life  and  health,  till  we  know 
that  our  petition  is  answered  for  your  good.  Be  pleased  to  let  us 
hear  from  you  by  the  first  opportunity,  how  it  is  with  you.  My  wife 
desireth  to  send  something  suitable  to  your  present  condition,  but 
knoweth  not  what  till  she  hear  further  concerning  you.  At  present 
she  sends  you  a  few  fresh  raisins,  and  a  little  liquorice,  and  your  own 
unicorn's  horn,  which  she  hath  kept  safe  for  you,  since  you  sent  it 
for  Mrs.  Eaton.  My  wife  is  ashamed  to  send  so  few  raisins,  but  she 
hath  no  more  so  good.  Were  it  not  I  am  loth  to  trouble  you  with 
many  lines,  I  should  write  much  more  concerning  other  matters,  and 
particularly  to  return  thanks  for  your  mindfulness  of  me  for  a  vent  for 
some  of  my  horses,  by  Mr.  Adis,  concerning  which  I  hope  to  have  an 
opportunity  of  speaking  with  you  ere  long.  The  Lord  Jesus  be  with 
you,  and  bless  means  for  your  recovery.  With  presenting  my  service 
and  my  wife's  and  son's  to  Mrs.  Winthrop  and  yourself,  and  our  love 
to  yours,  I  rest,  sir, 

Your  much  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  the  20th  d.  of  the  5th  m.  [July,]  1658. 

To  the  right  worshipful  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  these  present  in 
HARTFORD. 

VII. 

Honored  Sir, — We  have,  with  longing  desires,  long  expected  your 
return  with  your  family  to  your  own  habitation  at  New  Haven,  as 
accounting  your  dwelling  among  us  a  special  favor  from  God,  and  a 
common  good  to  all  the  people,  especially  in  this  sickly  time,  when 
many  are  afflictively  exercised  with  gripings,  vomitings,  fluxes,  agues 
and  fevers,  though  more  moderately  in  this  town  by  the  mercy  of 
God,  than  at  Norwalk  and  Fairfield.  Young  Mr.  Allerton,  who 
lately  came  from  the  Dutch,  saith  they  are  much  more  sorely  visited 
there  than  these  parts  are.  It  is  said  that  at  Mashpeag,  the  inhab- 
itants are  generally  so  ill  that  they  are  likely  to  lose  their  harvest 
through  want  of  ability  to  reap  it.  Mr.  Harbert,  of  Southold,  is  so 
ill  at  Manhadoes  that  there  is  little  if  any  hope  of  his  life.  Brother 
Alsop  is  come  from  the  Dutch  with  a  purpose  to  have  gone  to  the  Bay 
before  this  time ;  but  the  afflicting  hand  of  the  Lord  hath  stayed  him 
by  great  illness,  accompanied  with  a  giddiness  in  his  head,  and  much 
sleepiness  and  burning.  It  comes  by  fits,  every  other  day.  My  wife 
giveth  him  this  day  a  portion  of  your  powder,  whereof  the  supply  that 


374 

you  left  in  her  hand  is  spent.  The  extremities  of  the  people  have 
caused  her  to  part  with  what  she  reserved  for  our  own  family,  if  need 
should  require.  It  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to  preserve  us  hitherto. 
Yet  my  wife  hath  been,  divers  times  this  summer,  and  still  is,  vale- 
tudinarious,  faint,  thirsty,  of  little  appetite,  and  indisposed  sundry 
times,  yet  goes  about,  and  is,  between  times,  better  and  cheerful. 
*  *  Edmund  is  not  well,  yet  goes  about.  The  good  "Lord  pre- 
pare us  for  all  changes ;  that  under  all  changes  of  providences,  we 
may  have  suitable  changes  of  spirit,  to  honor,  serve,  and  please  God 
therein !  Amen. 

Sir,  I  will  not  hide  from  you  what  is  here  reported ;  though  I  can- 
not easily  believe  it,  because  I  received  no  such  intelligence  at  any 
time  from  yourself.  Timothy  Nash  saith  he  cannot  understand  from 
yourself,  or  from  Mr.  Winthrop,  or  from  the  people  at  Hartford,  that 
you  have  any  purpose  of  ever  returning  hither  to  dwell  here.  And 
Nath.  Kimberly  saith  from  your  own  words,  that  you  thought  to  have 
come  to  New  Haven,  but  now  you  think  you  shall  not  see  us  this 
year.  If  it  be  so,  we  have  cause  to  be  sensible  of  a  great  loss  to 
us,  who  have  long  comforted  ourselves  in  hopes  of  enjoying  you  in 
a  way  of  dwelling  here,  not  only  for  the  good  that  many  may  receive 
by  God's  blessing  upon  your  endeavors  for  their  health,  but  for  your 
company,  which  for  itself  is  precious  and  contentful  unto  us.  If  you 
would  please  to  stock  your  farm,  and  to  give  order  to  have  your  land 
at  New  Haven  improved,  you  might  live  comfortably  upon  that  which 
is  your  own,  in  this  place.  The  people  here  also  would  be  ready  to 
serve  you  with  their  labors,  and  to  take  hold  of  all  good  occasions  of 
declaring  their  thankfulness,  really,  as  they  are  bound  to  do,  for  your 
large  and  liberal  helpfulness  to  them, — in  distributing  whereof  my 
wife  is  but  your  hand,  who  neither  receiveth  nor  expecteth  any  re- 
compense for  that,  but  desireth  that  all  acknowledgments  and  retri- 
butions mayxbe  returned  to  yourself. 

Sir,  it  pleased  you  when  I  was  exercised  with  that  swimming  diz- 
ziness, to  send  me  a  paper,  Feb.  20,  '57,  containing  in  it  certain 
portions  of  powder,  which  I  never  opened  till  this  day,  because  it 
pleased  God  to  release  me  from  that  distemper  without  it.  And  in 
perusing  the  letter  you  then  sent,  I  find  it  commended  as  also  useful 
for  my  other  distemper  in  regard  of  the  magisterium  of  corals  which 
is  in  it.  Hereupon  I  desire  to  know  whether  you  will  advise  me  to 
make  use  of  it  for  that,  though  the  dizziness,  through  God's  mercy, 
hath  not  troubled  me,  since  the  spring  began,  unto  this  day.  Ed- 


375 

ward  Preston  came  lately  from  Long  Island,  and  saith  many  Indians 
there  are  very  sick,  and  twelve  were  dead  before  his  coining  thence. 
My  wife  and  son  join  with  me  in  presenting  our  service  to  yourself 
and  Mrs.  Winthrop,  and  our  loving  salutations  to  your  children. 
The  Lord  Jesus  dwell  with  you  in  peace  and  loving  kindness  !  In 
whom  I  rest,  Sir, 

Your  exceedingly  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  the  4th  d.  of  the  Gth  ra.  '58.  [4th  Aug.  1658.] 

Sir,  my  wife  desires  a  word  or  two  of  advice  from  you,  what  is 
best  to  be  done  for  those  gripings,  and  agues  and  fevers ;  but  she  is 
loath  to  be  too  troublesome ;  yet  as  the  cases  are  weighty,  she  de- 
sires to  go  upon  the  surest  ground,  and  to  take  the  safest  courses, 
and  knoweth  none  whose  judgment  she  can  so  rest  in  as  in  yours. 

To  the  right  worshipful  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  these  present  in 
HARTFORD. 

VIII. 

Honored  Sir, — These  few  lines  are  to  congratulate  your  return  to 
your  family,  as  I  hope  in  health,  and  to  give  you  an  account  of  my 
negotiation  with  ours  about  the  iron-work,  the  issue  whereof  is  ac- 
cording to  your  mind,  as  the  enclosed  to  Capt.  Clarke  from  our  gov- 
ernor will  show,  which  I  send  enclosed  that  it  may  more  speedily  be 
conveyed  to  him  by  land,  than  we  can  expect  it  will  be  by  sea.  The 
Lord  also  bless  the  intended  marriage  of  your  eldest  daughter  to  Mr. 
Newman  for  many  comforts  to  you  both,  and  to  your  family,  and 
to  themselves !  Be  pleased  to  present  mine,  my  wife's,  my  son's, 
humble  service  to  Mrs.  Winthrop,  together  with  yourself,  with  many 
thanks  to  her  for  her  great  kindnesses  to  us  when  we  were  at  Hart- 
ford. In  great  haste,  I  must  manum  dc  tabula.  The  Lord  Jesus 
dwell  with  you  and  yours  in  peace  and  loving  kindness !  In  whom 
I  rest,  Yours  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 

New  Haven,  the  22d  of  the  8th,  '58.  [22d  Oct.  1658.] 

To  the  right  worshipful,  his  much  honored  friend,  JOHN  WIN- 
THROP, Esq.,  these  present  in  HARTFOED. 

IX. 

Honored  Sir, — Though  I  have,  together  with  the  rest  entrusted 
by  you,  subscribed  our  common  letter,  yet  I  shall  add  a  few  lines,  as 


376 

mine  own  letter  to  yourself,  to  whom  I  am  so  particularly  obliged, 
that  I  cannot  omit  to  present  my  respectful  salutations  to  yourself 
and  Mrs.  Winthrop,  with  many  thanks  for  the  intelligences  I  have 
received  from  you  in  several  letters,  and  for  the  powders  you  sent  to 
my  wife,  and  for  the  Almanack,  which  I  had  not  seen  before,  though 
since  my  receipt  of  yours,  the  president  of  the  college  sent  me  one. 
The  author  of  it  is  wholly  unknown  to  me,  save  by  his  name  in  the 
tide  page.  In  the  next  page,  speaking  of  four  eclipses  this  year,  he 
may  seem  to  some  willing  to  be  accounted  sapientum  octavus,  utpote 
qui  terram  planetarum  octavam  animo  suo  fingit,  contra  communem 
astronomorum  sententiam.  For  he  saith,  "  Twice  shall  this  planet 
whereon  we  live,  and  its  concomitant,  the  moon,  widow  each  other 
of  their  sun-derived  luster."  Now  the  place  whereon  we  live  is  the 
earth, — the  place,  I  say,  not  the  planet.  But  he  is  not  willing  solus 
sapere.  Therefore  for  his  four  propositions  he  produceth  in  his  last 
page  sundry  authors,  who,  he  saith,  have  answered  the  objections 
from  Scripture  against  this  opinion.  I  have  not  read  their  answers. 
But  if  it  be  the  brief  or  sum  of  them  which  he  notes,  it  will  not  be 
found,  upon  an  exact  search,  to  be  satisfying.  However  it  be,  let 
him  enjoy  his  opinion ;  and  I  shall  rest  in  what  I  have  learned,  till 
more  cogent  arguments  be  produced  than  I  have  hitherto  met  with. 
Sir,  your  notion  about  letting  your  house  to  N.  K.  &,c.,  came  to 
me  wholly  beyond  my  expectation.  I  did  indeed  expect  (accord- 
ing to  your  promise,  as  I  understood  it)  to  hear  from  you,  upon  your 
return  from  the  Bay,  the  result  of  your  thoughts  and  purposes,  and 
your  resolution,  whether  to  return  to  inhabit  it  with  your  family,  and 
when, — or  to  sell  it  to  the  town ;  who  bought  it  that  they  might  freely 
give  it  to  yourself  or  put  it  into  your  power  as  your  own  upon  what 
terms  you  propounded,  (seeing  you  would  not  accept  it  upon  free 
gift,  because  you  would  preserve  your  liberty  to  dwell  in  it  as  your 
occasions  would  permit.)  But  what  they  then  did,  and  others  stirred 
them  up  unto,  I  assure  you  was  in  respect  to  the  common  good  which 
was  hoped  for  and  expected  by  all,  from  yourself  dwelling  among  us 
with  your  family.  Nor  would  they  have  taken  such  pay  for  it  from 
any  man  in  the  country  but  yourself,*  which  I  note  that  you  may  see 
their  love  to  you,  and  desire  of  enjoying  you  among  us.  There  are 
few  houses  vacant  in  the  town,  that  are  so  fit  as  that  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  persons  of  public  usefulness.  Such  men  the  town  wants. 

*  For  an  explanation  of  this  allusion,  sec  p.  326. 


377 

If  yourself  and  yours  dwell  in  it,  it  will  satisfy  all ;  none  will  desire 
any  other,  and  myself  and  mine  will  most  rejoice  therein.  But  if 
your  other  occasions  will  not  permit  that,  this  way  of  letting  it  unto 
such  men  will  not  be  for  your  profit,  nor  for  the  town's  satisfaction. 
Your  house  and  lot  hath  suffered  much  hurt  already,  and  will  more, 
in  this  way  ;  and  this  town  will  lose  their  end,  for  they  would  never 
have  let  it  pass  out  of  their  hands  but  in  hope  of  enjoying  yourself, 
which  if  they  cannot  obtain,  I  perceive  it  will  in  the  next  place,  best 
satisfy  them  if  you  please  to  give  them  leave  to  buy  it  of  you.  I 
thought  it  my  duty  to  signify  thus  much  to  yourself;  and  shall  add 
only  this  to  prevent  misinterpretations,  that  as  your  house  is  your 
own,  so  all  do  grant  that  it  is  in  your  own  power  to  do  with  it  as  you 
please.  If  you  please  to  let  it  to  N.  K.  &c.  you  may,  only  you  may 
be  pleased  to  remind  that  this  is  not  that  use  of  the  house  which  will 
answer  the  townsmen's  ends,  and  the  town's  expectation  and  neces- 
sities. With  mine,  my  wife's,  and  my  son's  respectful  and  affec- 
tionate salutations  and  service,  presented  to  yourself,  and  Mrs.  Win- 
throp,  and  your  branches,  I  rest,  Sir, 

Yours,  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  the  18th  d.  of  the  1st  m.  1658-9.  [18  Mar.  1659.] 

To  his  honored  friend,  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  these  present  in 
HARTFORD. 

X. 

Honored  Sir, — I  received  yours,  both  of  the  24th  of  the  1st  m. 
called  March,  and  of  the  8th  of  the  2d,  called  April,  and  have  com- 
municated them  both  with  the  honored  governor,  &c.,  entrusted  by 
you,  and  with  the  townsmen.  All  consent  for  returning  many  thanks 
to  you  for  your  love  to  us  all,  and  to  the  town,  so  fully  expressed 
therein,  especially  by  your  declaration  of  your  unwillingness,  yea, 
very  unwillingness,  to  be  separated  from  us,  who  have  much  more 
cause,  and  are  really  as  unwilling  to  be  deprived  of  your  much  de- 
sired residence  among  us  with  your  family,  at  least  sometimes  as 
your  occasions  will  permit,  according  to  that  liberty  you  was  pleased 
to  reserve  unto  yourself  when  you  bought  the  house.  The  conclu- 
sion of  our  last  conference  was,  that  matters  should  stand  in  the 
state  they  are  in,  all  resolution  about  disposing  of  the  house  should 
be  suspended,  till  we  might  speak  with  yourself,  which  I  am  told, 
will  be  shortly.  The  sooner  the  better ;  for  we  long  to  sen  you,  and 
48 


3T8 

to  speak  with  you  mouth  to  mouth ;  and  some  say  that  your  house 
and  orchard  have  suffered  much  by  your  so  long  absence.  We  hear 
that  N.  K.  doth  improve  some  of  your  land  already ;  so  that  there 
will  be  no  inconvenience  to  yourself  by  this  delay.  We  shall  be 
glad  if  it  may  produce  in  yourself  and  Mrs.  Winthrop,  a  resolution 
to  possess  and  enjoy  it  yourselves,  that  so  we  may  enjoy  you.  But 
of  these  things  we  shall  speak  more  when  we  meet.  In  the  mean 
time,  and  ever,  the  Lord  Jesus  delight  over  you  and  yours,  to  do  you 
good  !  In  whom  I  rest,  Sir, 

Your  much  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 

Myself,  wife,  and  son,  present  our  humble  services,  with  most  af- 
fectionate salutations  to  yourself,  Mrs.  Winthrop,  and  your  children. 

New  Haven,  the  15th  day  of  the  2d  m.,  1659. 

To  the  right  worshipful  and  much  honored,  JOHN  WINTHROP, 
Esq.,  these  present  in  HARTFORD. 

XI. 

Honored  Sir, — Your  quick  departure  from  Hartford,  after  my 
son's  return  home  from  thence,  denied  me  an  opportunity  of  express- 
ing our  due  thanks  for  your  loving  entertainment  of  so  bold  avisiter, 
whereof  he  speaketh  much,  and  yet  is  not  satisfied  with  what  he  hath 
spoken,  thinking  it  falls  short  of  what  he  should  speak,  to  express 
your  and  Mrs.  Winthrop's  kindness  to  him.  Sir,  you  know  that  the 
affections  of  parents  are  apt  to  sympathize  with  their  children,  and 
to  take  contentment  in  what  they  find  to  be  justly  pleasing  and  com- 
fortable to  them.  Hence  it  is  that  I  desire  to  take  this  first  overture 
for  conveyance  of  these  few  lines  in  way  of  thankfulness  from  us, 
both  to  yourself  (as  I  have  already  done  to  Mrs,  Winthrop,  by  J.  La- 
timer)  for  the  same  ;  and  to  let  you  know  that  I  have  received  a 
large  letter  from  Mr.  Blinman,  dated  Aug.  22,  whereby  I  understand 
that  God  hath  brought  him  to  Newfoundland,  in  safety  and  health, 
and  maketh  his  ministry  acceptable  to  all  the  people  there  except 
some  Quakers,  and  much  desired  and  nocked  unto.  He  hath  made 
choice  of  a  ship  for  Barnstable  to  his  content,  the  master  being  godly. 
After  these  passages,  and  his  notifying  to  me  the  lady  Kirk's  respect- 
ful and  loving  mention  of  me,  whom,  she  saith,  she  hath  heard  in 
London,  he  addeth  to  what  I  had  heard  from  England,  that  a  fine 
of  51.  is  put  upon  any  that  shall  name  the  last  protector.  2.  That 


379 

the  Lord  Henry  is  sent  for  out  of  Ireland,  and  out  of  his  place.  3. 
That  four  are  sent  from  England,  and  four  from  France,  and  four 
from  the  States,  to  see  whether  they  can  compose  matters  between 
Swede  and  Dane.  4.  That  30,000/.  is  demanded  for  the  old  pro- 
tector's funeral,  which  the  parliament  refused  to  pay.  Some  urged 
that  those  that  had  the  mourning  clothes  should  pay  for  them,  that 
the  commons  might  not  be  charged.  5.  That  the  last  protector  was 
like  to  be  apprehended  for  the  debt,  but  withdrew ;  whereupon  the 
parliament  gave  him  six  month's  liberty  to  come  to  terms  with  credi- 
tors. 6.  That  Mr.  Hugh  Peters  is  distracted,  and  under  sore  hor- 
rors of  conscience,  crying  out  of  himself  as  damned,  and  confessing 
heinous  actings.  He  concludes,  "  For  the  truth  hereof,  sit  Jides  pe- 
nes auctorem."  7.  That  there  is  an  ambassador  gone  for  Spain. 
Lastly,  That  the  fleet  in  the  West  Indies  have  taken  an  almost  in- 
credible mass  of  treasure  in  some  Spanish  towns  there.  Reported 
by  a  ship  in  the  harbor  where  Mr.  Blinman  lies,  that  met  a  frigate  at 
sea,  going  home  for.  I  shall  not  add  at  present,  but  my  desires  for 
your  safe  journey  to  the  Bay  and  speedy  return  to  your  family,  and 
then  to  New  Haven, — and  my  wife's,  with  our  son's  respectful  and 
most  affectionate  salutations  and  humble  service. 

Yours,  exceedingly  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  the  28th  d.  of  the  7th  m.  [28th  Sept.]  1659. 

To  the  honored  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  governor  of  Connecticut 
colony,  these  present  in  NEW  LONDON. 

XII. 

Honored  Sir, — John  Palmer  is  not  yet  gone,  whereby  I  have  lib- 
erty to  add  a  postscript  to  my  former  letter  upon  new  intelligence 
from  Nichols  of  Boston,  from  Virginia,  which  I  received  after  the 
enclosed  was  sealed.  He  saith  that  he  came  from  Virginia  the  23d 
of  January,  that  there  were  70*  ships  from  England,  which  raiseth 
the  price  of  tobacco  to  12<7.  per  pound ;  that  a  few  days  before  he 
came  thence,  there  arrived  some  ships  from  England  which  came 
from  thence  six  weeks  before,  that  is,  in  the  beginning  of  December. 
These  ships  bring  word  that  the  parliament  was  then  sitting,  and 

*  The  MS.  being  torn  in  this  place,  I  will  not  be  responsible  for  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  incredible  reading,  though  I  can  make  nothing  else  of  it, 


matters  in  Scotland  were  in  peace.  There  is  some  confirmation  of 
the  report  of  the  lord  Lambert's  going  forth  with  20,000,  to  meet 
General  Monk,  from  Scotland,  with  20,000.  The  story  runs  thus 
in  Sir  Henry  Moody's  report,  sent  in  his  letter  from  Virginia  to  an 
Englishman,  a  captain,  at  Manhadoes.  The  Presbyterians,  in  Scot- 
land and  England,  flock  much  to  General  Monk,  who  now  engageth 
himself  for  them  and  their  interest,  and  is  come  forth  upon  that  ac- 
count with  the  forenoted  army  as  far  as  Worcester,  whither  General 
Lambert  is  gone  with  his  army,  to  stop  his  proceedings.  General 
Montague,  it  is  said,  is  come  to  London,  and  complieth  well  with  the 
parliament.  Farewell. 

This  afternoon  the  captain  hath  been  with  the  governor,  to  excuse 
his  not  appearing  at  the  court  of  magistrates,  by  his  former  illness  in 
body,  having  a  looseness  and  vomiting  blood ;  and  his  not  sending 
his  attorney,  by  his  want  of  one.  His  surgeon  would  not.  Philip  Scot 
would  not.  But  he  conceals  that  he  who  took  the  prize  was  in  his 
ship,  who  was  most  fit  to  have  been  sent  to  the  court ;  and  forgets  to 
excuse  his  refusal  to  yield  to  a  sequestration  of  Mr.  Raymond's  goods 
till  the  cause  were  tried,  though  the  governor  sent  the  marshal  to 
him  with  a  warrant,  for  that  end,  and  sundry  other  things.  The 
governor  is  almost  overcome  with  his  fair  words.  But  he  speaks  not 
a  word  of  submitting  his  cause  to  their  trial,  yet  seems  willing  to 
leave  Mr.  Raymond's  vessel  and  goods  in  the  court's  hands,  for  part 
of  security,  and  to  bind  his  twelfth  part  in  the  ship  for  the  other  part 
of  security,  (which  is  as  none,  because  it  is  not  standing  security,) 
that  he  will  have  it  tried  in  England  within  twelve  months,  if  Mr. 
Raymond  will  be  bound  and  give  security  to  prosecute  against  him. 
What  the  issue  will  be,  a  little  time  will  shew.  In  the  mean  time, 
his  spirit  is  somewhat  lower  in  show  than  it  was.*  Again,  farewell. 

The  22d  d.  of  the  12th  m.  '59.    [22  Feb.  1660.] 

To  the  right  worshipful  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  governor  of  Con- 
necticut, these  present  in  HARTFORD. 


*  The  story  of  Capt.  John  Penny  and  the  Roebuck,  and  his  seizing  the 
Black  Eagle,  a  vessel  belonging  to  Mr.  Richard  Raymond  of  Salem,  and 
the  trial  of  the  question  before  the  court  of  magistrates ;  and  how  Capt.  Penny 
was  compelled  to  make  proper  acknowledgments  for  "  the  affronts  he  had 
offered  the  government  here," — may  be  seen  at  large  in  the  colony  re- 
cords. 


381 


XIII. 

Honored  Sir, — Yesterday,  Mr.  Gilbert  and  Deacon  Myles  brought 
unto  me  a  letter  written  by  yourself  to  sergeant  Whitehead,  about 
your  house,  which,  it  seems,  was  an  answer  to  a  letter  sent  by  I 
know  not  whom,  nor  when,  to  yourself,  in  the  name  of  the  towns- 
men, and  with  their  consent,  that  they  might  purchase  the  house  for 
the  town.  From  Brother  Herriman's  discourse  with  my  wife,  I  'un- 
derstand that  himself  and  Brother  Wakeman  had  speech  with  you, 
to  promove  that  motion.  All  this  was  done  and  written  without  my 
knowledge  and  my  wife's  and  son's.  They  did  not,  nor  any  from  or 
for  them,  make  it  known  unto  me  in  the  least,  that  such  a  letter  or 
message  should  be  sent  unto  you.  Two  of  the  brethren  who  were 
not  townsmen,  spake  with  me  formerly  about  their  fear  of  losing  the 
governor  for  want  of  an  house,  and  propounded  yours,  concluding 
from  your  own  words  that  you  would  not  dwell  here,  though  if  there 
had  been  any  ground  of  hope  of  the  contrary,  they  would  not  have 
propounded  it.  This  I  add,  that  I  may  do  them  right.  My  advice 
was,  that  they  would  not  send  to  you  about  it;  and  to  stay  them  from 
so  doing,  I  told  them  that  I  heard  you  purposed  to  come  hither 
shortly,  (for  so  Daniel  your  man  had  reported,)  and  did  think  that 
they  would  wait  for  that.  These  things  I  thus  particularly  relate, 
that  you  may  see  that  I  had  not  the  least  hand  in  what  they  have 
done,  nor  consent  to  it,  nor  knowledge  of  it.  When  the  forenamed 
showed  me  your  letter,  and  enquired  what  I  would  do  in  reference 
to  the  power  and  trust  you  was  pleased  to  commit  to  me  about 
alienating  your  house,  I  told  them,  as  I  had  said  unto  yourself  be- 
fore, that  I  must  desire  to  be  excused  from  acting  in  that  business, 
and  did  refuse  it,  and  do  still  pray  you  to  wave  me  in  that  employ- 
ment, who  shall  in  other  things  deny  you  nothing  that  I  am  fit  to  do, 
if  I  may  really  pleasure  you  thereby.  My  son  also  hath  refused  to 
act  in  that  matter.  Had  a  letter  been  brought  to  us  to  subscribe, 
for  inviting  you  to  bring  your  family  when  you  shall  find  a  conven- 
ient time,  and  to  come  and  dwell  in  your  house,  and  the  sooner  the 
welcomer,  &c.,  we  should  have  signed  that  with  both  our  hands. 
What  is  done  I  have  not  yet  heard,  therefore  cannot  give  you  ac- 
count of  it. 

While  I  paused  a  little,  having  written  thus  far,  I  hear  that  the  two 
mentioned  in  the  first  line  have  alienated  your  house.  If  it  be  so,  I 
am  heartily  sorry,  that  what  we  have  so  many  years  desired  and 


382 

hoped  for,  we  shall  be  thus  deprived  of,  viz.  your  neighborhood, 
which  we  do  highly  value,  and  therefore  cannot  but  look  upon  our 
loss  as  exceeding  great.  My  wife  received  Mrs.  Winthrop's  loving 
token,  the  sugar  loaf  she  was  pleased  to  send  her,  for  which  she  re- 
turneth  her  many  thanks,  yet  is  sorry  to  have  it  from  her,  to  whom 
she  accounteth  herself  obliged  otherwise  rather  to  send  unto  her. 
With  mine,  my  wife's  and  son's  humble  services  to  you  both,  and 
respectful  and  affectionate  salutations  to  your  daughters,  commend- 
ing you  both,  and  yours,  unto  the  everlasting  arms,  I  rest,  Sir, 
Yours,  exceedingly  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 

The  5th  d.  of  the  2d.  m.  [April,]  1660. 

We  desire  to  receive  some  intelligence  of  your  and  Mrs.  Winthrop's 
coming  to  us,  whose  house  shall  be  as  your  own ;  and  you  will  much 
cheer  us  if  you  say  we  shall  enjoy  you  here  shortly. 

To  the  right  worshipful  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  Governor  of  Con- 
necticut colony,  these  present  in  HARTFORD. 

XIV. 

Honored  Sir, — I  received  yours  by  Brother  Benham,  whom  God 
preserved  from  being  drowned  in  his  journey  homeward.  The  river 
by  Mr.  Yale's  farm  was  swollen  high ;  his  wife  was  fearful  of  riding 
through  it.  God  provided  an  help  for  her  at  the  instant,  by  a  pas- 
senger who  traveled  from  Windsor  to  Branford  to  Mr.  Crane's,  whose 
daughter  he  had  married.  He  helped  Sister  Benham  over  a  tree. 
But  her  husband  adventuring  to  ride  through,  a  foot  of  his  horse 
slipped ;  so  he  fell  into  the  water,  and  his  horse,  as  he  thinketh,  fell 
upon  him  or  struck  him  with  his  foot,  for  he  had  a  blow  on  his  head. 
But  through  the  mercy  of  God  he  is  now  well.  This  day,  Mr.  At- 
water,  being  at  our  lecture,  speaks  of  a  letter  newly  received  from 
his  wife,  who  writes  her  fears  that  she  shall  never  see  him  again, 
doubting  that  he  was  cast  away  the  last  storm,  whereby,  she 
saith,  sundry  vessels  about  Boston  have  suffered  much  hurt,  and 
some  persons  were  cast  away,  and  a  ship  also,  if  I  mistake  not, 
at  Cape  Cod.  But  God  ordered  things  so,  by  his  good  provi- 
dence, that  Mr.  Atwater  was  then  at  New  London  in  a  safe  harbor. 
Even  now,  Major  Hawthorne  and  Mr.  Richards  are  come  from  the 
Dutch.  They  are  gone  into  the  town  to  despatch  some  business, 
but  will  return  to  sup  and"  lodge  at  my  house.  I  do  not  yet  know 
whether  they  purpose  to  return  to  Boston  by  land  or  sea,  yet  prepare 


383 

these  lines,  in  omncm  even  turn,  to  send  by  them  if  they  go  by  land, 
or  by  some  other  conveyance  if  I  can  hear  of  any. 

Sir,  I  thank  you  for  my  sight  of  Mr.  Knowles'  letter  to  Mr.  Joanes. 
That  which  he  speaks  of  a  parliament  in  Scotland,  I  cannot  receive. 
For  I  suppose  England  will  not  suffer  it.  I  still  hope  that  things  in 
England  are  in  an  hopeful  way.  The  Lord  Jesus  dwell  with  you  in 
peace !  Mine,  my  wife's  and  son's  humble  services  are  affection- 
ately presented- to  yourself  and  Mrs.  Winthrop,  with  our  salutations 
to  your  daughters.  Having  other  letters  to  write,  in  answer  to  friends 
in  the  Bay,  I  am  compelled  to  take  off  my  pen,  but  shall  always 
remain,  Sir, 

Your  exceedingly  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  the  13th  of  the  2d,  [April,]  1660.^ 

Mr.  Price,  of  Salem,  and  his  wife,  present  their  services  to  your- 
self and  Mrs.  Winthrop,  in  a  letter  brought  to  me  by  Major  Haw- 
thorne. They  are  importunately  desirous  to  stay  Mr.  Higginson 
with  them  at  Salem,  for  continuance,  and  in  way  of  office. 

[Superscription  torn  off] 

XV. 

Honored  Sir, — This  is  the  first  opportunity  presented  to  me  of 
returning  an  answer  to  the  two  last  letters  I  received  from  you. 
Brother  Benham  indeed  (whose  good  and  sweet-spirited  wife  the 
Lord  hath  taken  from  him  since  his  return, — and  a  young  child  of 
one  of  his  sons  is  since  dead  in  his  house,  where  also  one  of  his 
son's  wife  lieth  very  weak)  went  to  Hartford,  but  gave  no  notice  of 
it  beforehand  that  I  might  prepare  a  letter  for  him.  Brother  Myles, 
at  his  return  from  the  Bay,  comforted  me  with  hope  of  your  recov- 
ering strength.  For  he  told  us  that  you  looked  better  when  he  re- 
turned, than  you  did  when  he  went  to  the  Bay.  Our  desire  is  fer- 
vent to  see  you  and  Mrs.  Winthrop  here,  by  the  will  of  God,  as  soon 
as  may  be.  I  hope  the  change  of  air  would  hasten  your  recovery, 
aad  the  perfecting  of  your  strength,  by  the  blessing  of  God.  For  we 
are  by  the  sea-side,  and  my  house  shall  be  as  your  own  for  your  use. 
And  to  us  it  will  be  a  singular  refreshment  and  contentment  to  enjoy 
your  presence  and  abode  with  us,  as  long  as  your  occasions  will  per- 
mit. Be  pleased  to  accept  this  serious  and  hearty  invitation,  and  to 
answer  it  really,  in  coming  to  us  and  staying  with  us,  that  you  may 
be  refreshed  with  the  sea-air,  and  we  with  your  sweet  and  much  de- 


384 

sired  fellowship.  If  you  fear  that  you  shall  burthen  us,  be  assured 
of  the  contrary,  that  we  shall  look  upon  it  as  a  real  testimony  of 
your  love  and  confidence  in  us,  and  in  our  love  which  is  unfeigned 
towards  both  you  and  all  yours,  and  as  a  most  acceptable  gratifi- 
cation of  our  earnest  desire  to  enjoy  you  with  us  as  long  as  we  may. 
Myself,  wife,  and  son,  had  been  with  you  before  this  time,  if  I  durst 
have  ventured  upon  such  a  journey,  which  yet  I  should  have  done, 
though  with  some  hazard,  if  my  coming  might  have  been  of  any  ne- 
cessary beneficial  use  to  you.  One  day  in  the  spring,  I  rode  forth 
with  our  governor,  to  stir  my  body,  and  take  the  air,  but  when  I  re- 
turned home,  though  we  had  been  out  but  an  hour  or  two,  [a  detailed 
account  of  symptoms,  in  the  course  of  which  the  writer  says,  "  hot 
weather  weakens  and  almost  prostrates  my  spirits  when  it  is  extreme" 
— is  omitted.] 

Sir,  I  humbly  thank  you  for  the  intelligences  I  received  in  your 
letters,  and  for  the  two  weekly  intelligences  which  Brother  Myles 
brought  me,  I  think,  from  yourself,  and  which  I  return  enclosed,  by 
this  bearer  with  many  thanks.  I  did  hope  that  we  might  have  re- 
ceived our  letters  by  Capt.  Pierce  before  this  time.  But  we  have  no 
news  lately  from  the  Bay.  Brother  Rutherford  and  Brother  Alsop 
are  both  there ;  so  also  is  our  teacher,  Mr.  Street.  The  two  former 
I  hope  will  return  sometime  the  next  week.  Then  probably  we  shall 
have  some  further  news.  The  Lord  fit  us  to  receive  it  as  we  ought 
whatever  it  may  be.  Sir,  I  long  to  hear  of  your  perfect  recovery  of 
health  and  strength,  and  to  understand  from  you,  that  your  purpose 
is  to  be  with  us  shortly,  and  when  we  may  expect  your  coming  to  us 
with  Mrs.  Winthrop,  &/c.  In  the  mean  time,  and  ever,  the  Lord 
Jesus  dwell  with  you  in  mercy,  and  peace,  and  loving-kindness ;  in 
whom  I  rest,  Sir, 

Yours,  exceedingly  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 
New  Haven,  the  20th  d.  of  the  5th  m.  [July,]  1660.* 

To  the  right  worshipful  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  governor  of  Con- 
necticut colony,  these  present  in  HARTFORD. 

*  "  On  the  27th  of  July,  [1660,]  Capt.  Pierce,  a  noted  shipmaster  in  the 
trade  between  England  and  the  colony,  [of  Massachusetts,]  arrived  and 
brought  the  news  of  the  king's  being  proclaimed."  Hutch.  I,  210.  Whalley 
and  Goffe,  the  fugitive  judges,  arrived  at  Boston  in  Capt.  Pierce's  vessel. 
Well  might  Davenport  say  in  reference  to  the  news  which  that  ship  might 
bring,  "  The  Lord  prepare  us  to  receive  it  as  we  ought,  whatever  it  may  be." 


385 

XVI. 

Honored  Sir, — I  perceive  you  have  received  from  others  the  sad 
intelligence  of  the  decease  of  our  honored  governor,  my  very  dear 
and  precious  friend.*  We  hoped  that  he  was  in  a  good  way  of  recov- 
ery from  his  former  sickness,  and  were  comforted  with  his  presence 
in  the  assembly  two  Lord's  days,  and  at  one  meeting  of  the  Church 
on  a  week  day,  without  any  sensible  inconvenience.  And  on  the 
morning  of  the  day  of  public  thanksgiving,  he  found  himself  encour- 
aged to  come  to  the  public  assembly.  But  after  the  morning  sermon, 
he  told  me  that  he  found  himself  exceedingly  cold  from  head  to 
toe,  yet,  having  dined,  he  was  refreshed,  and  came  to  the  meeting 
again  in  the  afternoon,  the  day  continuing  very  cold.  That  night  he 
was  very  ill ;  yet  he  did  not  complain  of  any  relapse  into  his  former 
disease,  but  of  inward  cold,  which  he  and  welioped  might  be  removed 
by  his  keeping  warm  and  using  other  suitable  means.  I  believe  he 
did  not  think  that  the  time  of  his  departure  was  so  near,  or  that  he 
should  die  of  this  distemper,  though  he  was  always  prepared  for 
his  great  change.  The  last  day  of  the  week  he  desired  my  son  to 
come  to  him  the  next  morning  to  write  a  bill  for  him  to  be  prayed  for, 
according  to  his  direction.  My  son  went  to  him  after  the  beating  of 
the  first  drum ;  but  finding  himself  not  fit  to  speak  much,  he  prayed 
him  to  write  for  him  what  he  thought  fit.  When  the  second  drum 
beat,  I  was  sent  for  to  him.  But  before  I  came,  though  I  made 
haste,  his  precious  immortal  soul  was  departed  from  its  house  of  clay 
unto  the  souls  of  just  men  made  perfect.  We  were  not  worthy  of 
him,  a  true  Nathaniel,  an  Israelite  indeed  who  served  God  in  Christ, 
in  sincerity  and  truth.  He  honored  God  in  his  personal  conversa- 
tion, and  in  his  administration  of  chief  magistracy  in  this  colony  ; 
and  God  hath  given  him  honor  in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  My  loss 
and  my  son's,  who  took  great  contentment  in  his  company,  as  he 
also  did  in  his,  is  very  great,  and  our  grief  answerable.  But  the 
public  loss  is  far  greater ;  and  answerably  it  is  generally  bewailed, 
God  recompensing  his  faithfulness  with  his  living  desired,  and  dying 
lamented.  It  becomes  us  to  lay  our  hands  upon  our  mouths,  yea,  to 
put  our  mouths  in  the  dust,  remembering  whose  doing  this  is.  Yet, 
in  respect  of  means,  I  could  wish  two  things  ;  first,  that  in  his  former 
sickness,  he  had  wholly  and  only  followed  your  directions ;  secondly, 
that  he  had  forborne  coming  forth  that  cold  day.  But  God's  coun- 

*  The  governor  here  spoken  of,  is  Governor  Newman. 

49 


scls  shall  stand,  whose  will  is  the  first  and  best  cause  of  all  things  ; 
and  the  very  errors  of  men  shall  serve  to  accomplish  his  purposes, 
who  is  holy  in  all  his  ways  and  righteous  in  all  his  works. 

Sir,  what  I  wrote  in  my  former  letter  concerning  Mrs.  Coglien,  I 
had  from  Anthony  Elcock,  who  received  it  in  the  Bay,  viz.  that  she 
was  discontented  that  she  had  no  suitors,  and  that  she  had  encoura- 
ged her  farmer,  a  mean  man,  to  make  a  motion  to  her  for  marriage, 
which  accordingly  he  propounded,  prosecuted,  and  proceeded  in  it  so 
far  that  afterwards,  when  she  reflected  upon  what  she  had  done,  and 
what  a  change  of  her  outward  condition  she  was  bringing  herself 
into,  she  was  discontented,  despaired,  and  took  a  great  quantity  of 
ratsbane,  and  so  died.  Fides  sit  penes  auctorem.  Sir,  I  humbly 
thank  you  for  the  intelligence  you  was  pleased  to  give  me  of  an  op- 
portunity of  transmitting  a  letter  for  London,  which  is  a  thing  that  I 
earnestly  desire,  and  do  make  bold  to  commit  it  to  your  own  care, 
seeing  you  are  pleased  to  give  me  that  liberty,  and  hearing  that  the 
vessel  is  yet  at  Hartford.  The  letter  is  of  great  importance.  The 
safe  and  speedy  handing  of  it  to  Mr.  Robert  Newman  will  be  a  real 
advantage  to  me,  and  the  miscarriage  of  it  no  small  disadvantage. 
In  which  respect,  if  you  conceive  it  will  be  more  speedily  and  cer- 
tainly conveyed  to  him  by  this  way  than  by  the  ship  at  Boston,  I  de- 
sire it  may  be  sent  accordingly  with  the  more  engagement  for  com- 
mitting it  to  a  sure  hand  at  Barbadoes,  to  be  delivered  to  Mr.  New- 
man in  London,  as  the  matter  is  of  more  consequence ;  that  an  an- 
swer may  be  returned  from  him,  by  the  first  ship  from  London  to 
Boston  in  the  spring.  Having  thus  opened  the  case,  I  crave  leave 
to  commit  it  wholly  to  yourself  to  take  that  course  with  it  which  you 
shall  judge  most  suitable.  I  shall  not  add,  but  mine,  my  wife's  and 
son's  humble  service  to  yourself  and  Mrs.  Winthrop  with  our  respect- 
ful and  affectionate  salutation  to  your  son  and  daughters,  praying  the 
Lord  to  continue  your  life  unto  them,  and  theirs  unto  you,  and  to 
multiply  his  favors  and  blessings  upon  you  and  them  through  Jesus 
Christ ;  in  whom  I  rest,  Sir, 

Yours,  ever  obliged, 

JOHN  DAVENPORT. 

New  Haven,  this  27th  d.  of  the  9th  m.  [November,]  1660. 

The  miscarriage  of  a  letter  which  I  formerly  sent  to  London  by 
way  of  Barbadoes,  makes  me  so  desirous  that  this  may  not  miscarry. 

To  the  right  worshipful  JOHN  WINTHROP,  Esq.,  governor  of  Con- 
necticut colony,  these  present  in  [HARTFORD.] 


3S7 


ADDITIONAL    NOTICES. 

Many  other  particulars  respecting  the  personal  history  of  Daven- 
port might  be  gathered  from  the  records ;  but  though  such  details 
have  always  a  charm  for  the  antiquarian,  they  might  seem  to  the 
general  reader,  tedious  and  trifling.  One  incident  however  may  be 
given  here,  as  it  is  an  additional  illustration  of  his  public  spirit. 

On  the  llth  of  August,  1662,  Mr.  Davenport  informed  the  town, 
"  that  he  having  occasion  by  the  providence  of  God  to  go  into  the 
Bay,  and  understanding  that  there  are  two  merchants  that  are  lately 
come  from  England,  who  have  a  desire  to  come  to  these  parts," 
wished  to  be  authorized  by  the  town  to  make  them  some  such  pro- 
posals as  might  induce  them  to  come  to  this  place.  "  They  are  very 
godly  men,"  he  said,  "  and  belong  to  a  Church  in  England,  and  so 
have  a  desire  to  have  a  place  to  sit  down  together  (as  Brother  Alsop 
reported,  and  Mr.  Rutherford;)  they  only  desire  home  lots,  and  it 
may  be,  some  out  lots."  After  some  discussion  it  was  suggested  that 
"  the  neck"  might  be  "  the  fittest  place  for  them."  Mr.  Davenport 
then  proposed  the  question  whether  the  town  would  give  up  that 
tract  of  land  to  these  strangers,  on  condition  of  their  settling  here. 
"  For  his  own  part,  he  had  some  land  there  himself,  and  he  should 
willingly  resign  up  his."  He  argued  that  these  merchants  "  would" 
bring  shipping  yearly  from  England  hither,  and  so  cause  manufac- 
ture, which  is  necessary  if  we  long  subsist  together."  The  proposal 
being  favorably  received,  he  "further  propounded  whether  we  should 
not  consider  them  as  coming  from  London,  and  not  knowing  the 
state  of  a  wilderness  condition,  and  therefore  extend  our  thoughts 
farther  than  their  desires,  so  as  to  accommodate  them  with  land 
and  meadow  for  cows,  and  also  liberty  for  cutting  fire  wood,  and 
timber  for  building,  equal  with  others  of  the  planters,  which  may  be 
a  great  encouragement  to  them  when  they  should  hear  our  thoughts 
extend  beyond  their  desires.  All  which  he  purposed  to  acquaint 
them  withal  when  he  understood  the  town's  mind  herein."  The  re- 
sult was  a  formal  offer  of  "the  neck,"  a  tract  of  about  six  hundred 
acres,  and  of  the  other  accommodations  and  privileges  proposed. 

One  of  those  merchants,  a  Mr.  Bache,  appears  to  have  carried  on 
business  here  for  many  years.  He  purchased  of  the  town,  the  house 
in  which  Gov.  Winthrop,  and  afterwards  Gov.  Newman,  had  resided. 
Of  the  other,  I  have  discovered  no  traces.  It  may  be  that  they 
were  both  of  that  class  for  whom  it  was  safest,  after  the  restoration, 
to  leave  England. 


388 

By  the  kindness  of  that  diligent  and  accurate  investigator,  Rev. 
Joseph  B.  Felt,  of  Boston,  I  have  been  favored  with  a  copy  of  the 
"  inventory  of  the  goods  and  chattels"  of  Mr.  Davenport,  taken  by 
James  Penn,  Anthony  Stoddard,  and  Thomas  Clark,  on  "  the  22d 
of  the  5th  mo.  1670."  In  this  inventory,  the  property  which  the 
deceased  left  in  New  Haven  has  no  place.  The  total  of  the  inven- 
tory, as  summed  up  on  the  record,  including  dwelling  house  and 
land,  valued  at  ,£400,  and  "one  servant  boy,  =£10"  is  =£1240  18  10L 
The  rooms  named,  are  the  hall,  the  study,  the  upper  chamber,  the 
kitchen  chamber,  the  garret,  the  parlor,  the  kitchen,  and  the  cellar. 
The  plate  is  estimated  at  ,£50.  "  Cheny  [china]  and  earthern  ware" 
at  ,£5.  "  Pewter  and  tin  ware"  in  the  kitchen,  ,£20.  Every  apart- 
ment named,  except  the  study,  the  garret,  the  kitchen,  and  the  cel- 
lar, has  a  bed  in  it.  The  inventory  of  things  in  the  study  is  worth 
copying. 

"Books  prized  by  Mr.  John  Oxenbridge,  our  pastor,  and 
by  Mr.  James  Allen,  our  teacher,  as  appeared  to  us 
by  a  note  under  their  hands  to  the  value  of  -  £233  17 

A  clock,  with  appurtenances,  -----  5  00 

7  high  chairs,  3  stools,  a  low  chair,  -        -        -         -  3  00 

A  skreen,  four  curtain  rods,  four  boxes,     -         -        -  2  00 

For  wt.  sugar,  a  little  trunk,  a  box,  ...  1  05"* 

More  than  a  thousand  dollars  worth  of  books,  will  seem  like  a 
large  library,  when  it  is  recollected  thrat  New  England  was  then  far 
more  of  a  new  country  than  the  western  frontier  is  now.  These 
books  descended  to  the  only  son  of  the  only  son,  the  Rev.  John  Dav- 
enport of  Stamford.  One  of  the  volumes,  at  least,  which  Davenport 

*  The  inventory  of  Mr.  Street's  estate  on  the  New  Haven  probate  records, 
shows  a  style  of  housekeeping  quite  inferior  to  his  colleague's.  The  entire 
estate,  including  £136  17  5,  which  belonged  to  his  wife,  (he  had  married 
the  relict  of  Gov.  Newman,)  and  which  by  the  will  was  to  be  hers  exclu- 
sively, was  only  £463  16.  His  books  were  valued  at  £46.  His  plate,  in- 
cluding the  "  silver  drinking  bowl"  and  the  "silver  wine  bowl,"  mentioned 
in  his  will,  amounted,  at  6s.  per  ounce,  to  £6  9.  From  the  catalogue  of  his 
household  chattels  as  distinct  from  what  were  his  wife's,  it  might  be  imagined 
that  he  escaped  from  the  Plymouth  colony  in  a  somewhat  impoverished  con- 
dition. It  is  as  likely,  however,  that  some  part  of  his  property  had  been  pre- 
viously distributed  among  his  married  children.  The  £71  12  6  in  hard  money 
which  he  had  by  him  in  those  hard  times,  was  a  somewhat  rare  accumulation. 


389 

must  have  got  in  Holland,  is  in  the  library  of  Yale  College.     Some, 
I  believe,  still  remain  at  the  seat  of  the  family  in  Stamford.* 

*  The  following  catalogue  of  Davenport's  published  works  is  made  out  by 
comparing  Wood,  (Athence  Oxon.,)  Mather,  Allen,  and  Emerson,  (Hist. 
of  First  Church  in  Boston,)  and  corrected  in  some  instances  by  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  works  themselves. 

A  Royal  Edict  for  Military  Exercises,  published  in  a  Sermon  preached  to 
the  captains  and  gentlemen  that  exercise  arms  in  the  Artillery  Garden,  at  their 
general  meeting  in  Saint  Andrew's  Undershaft  in  London.  London,  1629.  A 
copy  of  this  is  in  the  Atheneum  Library,  Boston. 

Letter  to  the  Dutch  Classis,  containing  a  just  complaint  against  an  unjust 
doer,  fyc.,  1634,  quarto.  This  is  a  complaint  against  Mr.  Paget's  proceed- 
ings in  the  English  Church  at  Amsterdam. 

Certain  Instructions  delivered  to  the  Elders  of  the  English  Church  deputed, 
which  are  to  be  propounded  to  the  pastors  of  the  Dutch  Church  in  Amsterdam, 
1634.  Wood  calls  it  a  quarto  paper. 

1.  A  Report  of  some  passages  or  proceedings  about  his  calling  to  the  English 
Church  in  Amsterdam,  against  John  Paget.  Quarto.  2.  Allegations  of  Scrip- 
ture against  the  baptizing  of  some  kind  of  infants.  Quarto.  3.  Protestation 
about  the  publishing  of  his  writings.  Quarto.  These  three  "  little  scripts,"  as 
Wood  calls  them,  were  all  printed  at  Amsterdam  in  1634. 

An  Apologctical  Reply  to  a  book  called  '  an  answer  to  the  unjust  complaint 
of  W.  B.'  &c.,  quarto.  Rotterdam,  1636.  A  copy  of  this  is  among  the 
books  deposited  by  the  Old  South  Church  in  the  Library  of  the  Mass.  His- 
torical Society. 

Profession  of  Faith  made  publicly  before  the  Congregation  at  his  admission 
into  one  of  the  Churches  of  New  England;  containing  twenty  several  heads. 
1.  Concerning  the  Scriptures,  &c.  London,  1642.  One  sheet,  quarto. 

The  Messiah  is  already  come.  A  sermon  on  Acts  ii,  36.  London,  1653. 
Quarto.  I  suspect  that  this  is  the  same  with  the  work  next  named. 

The  Knowledge  of  Christ,  fyc.,  -wherein  the  types,  prophecies,  genealogies, 
miracles,  humiliation,  fyc.  of  Christ  are  opened  and  applied.  Quarto,  printed 
in  1658,  or  before. 

Catechism  containing  the  chief  heads  of  the  Christian  religion.  London, 
1659.  Octavo.  Published  at  the  desire  and  for  the  use  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  New  Haven.  Wood  says  that  Mr.  Hooke  had  a  hand  in  this  work. 
The  Saints'  Anchor-hold,  in  all  storms  and  tempests,  preached  in  sundry  ser- 
mons, and  published  for  the  support  and  comfort  of  God's  people  in  all  times 
of  trial.  London,  1661.  Duodecimo.  See  p.  128. 

Another  Essay  for  investigation  of  the  truth,  in  answer  to  two  questions,  &c. 
,    Cambridge,  1663.     Quarto.     The  only  copy  of  this  work  which  I  have  been 
able  to  find,  belongs  to  the  library  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Robbins,  D.  D.,  of 
Rochester,  Mass.,  to  whom  I  am  much  indebted  for  the  use  of  it. 
Election  Sermon,  at  Boston,  1669. 

God's  call  to  his  people  to  turn  unto  him,  &c.,  in  two  sermons  on  two  pub- 
lic fasting  days  in  New  England.  London,  1670.  Quarto. 


390 

The  power  of  Congregational  Churches  asserted  and  vindicated;  in  answer 
to  a  treatise  of  Mr.  J.  Paget's,  entitled, '  The  Defense  of  Church  Government 
exercised  in  Classes  and  Synods.'  London,  1672.  Duodecimo.  A  copy  of 
this  is  found  in  the  Library  of  Harvard  University. 

A  Discourse  about  Civil  Government  in  a  new  plantation  whose  design  is 
religion.  Cambridge,  1673.  Quarto. 

He  was  also  the  author  of  a  Latin  Epistle  to  John  Dury  on  the  Union  of 
Protestant  Churches. 

A  long  letter  from  him  to  Major  General,  afterwards  Governor,  Leverett 
of  Boston,  is  among  the  documents  published  by  Hutchinson  in  his  third 
volume. 

He  also  wrote  several  commendatory  prefaces  to  other  men's  works, 
among  which,  Mather  mentions  an  epistle  before  Scudder's  Daily  Walk,  as 
worthy  to  be  reckoned  itself  a  book. 

He  also  left  ready  for  publication  an  Exposition  of  the  Canticles,  which 
was  never  published,  though  arrangements  for  printing  it  were  commenced 
in  London. 


391 
No.  XII. 

MADAM    NOYES. 

THE  following  sketch  is  from  "a  Sermon,  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  Mrs.  ABIGAIL  NOYES,  relict  of  the  late  Rev.  Joseph  Noyes," 
&c., "  delivered,  the  Lord's  day  after  her  decease  by  Chauncey  Whit- 
telsey,"  &c. 

"  She  was  truly  a  gentlewoman  of  distinguished  eminence  among 
us  ;  the  people  of  this  place,  especially  of  this  Church  and  society, 
almost  universally  knew  her  worth,  and  justly  esteemed  her  one  of 
the  best  of  women.  She  was  descended  from  very  reputable  and 
worthy  ancestors,  and  had  an  advantageous  education,  and  it 
pleased  the  Father  of  mercies,  from  whom  comes  every  good  and  per- 
fect gift,  to  endow  her  with  superior  talents  and  accomplishments. 
Her  knowledge,  especially  in  the  Scriptures,  and  in  the  doctrines  of 
the  Christian  religion,  was  very  extensive  and  accurate.  She  had  a 
delicate  mind,  and  in  wisdom  and  prudence  she  excelled;  but  her 
richest,  brightest  ornament,  was  a  Christian  spirit,  and  an  exemplary 
Christian  walk  and  conversation. 

"  The  things  of  God  and  religion  lay  with  the  greatest  weight  upon 
her  mind  ;  this  appeared  from  the  whole  tenor  of  her  conversation, 
and  particularly  under  the  sore  trials  which  she  underwent  when 
much  overborne,  (as  she  repeatedly  was,)  with  religious  melancholy. 
For  when  at  such  times  she  questioned  her  own  integrity,  she  discov- 
ered the  deepest  concern,  and  was  at  seasons  in  mere  anguish  of 
spirit,  not  so  much  because  of  her  own  dangerous  estate,  as  from  an 
apprehension  of  the  dishonor  she  did  or  might  do  to  God,  and  to  the 
Redeemer. 

"  The  interest  of  Christ's  kingdom  lay  near  her  heart,  the  ad- 
vancement of  which  she  attempted,  not  only  by  prayer  to  the  God 
of  all  grace,  but  also  by  her  serious,  instructive  discourse,  man- 
aged with  admirable  pertinency  and  discretion,  according  to  the  con- 
dition and  character  of  different  persons;  and  by  many  little  projec- 
tions, judiciously  formed  and  executed.  For  to  do  good  appeared  to 
be  her  study  and  delight.  Who  among  us  but  could  testify  of  her 
savory,  religious  conversation,  when 'she  opened  her  mouth  with 
wisdom,  and  on  her  tongue  was  the  law  of  kindness?' 


392 

"  She  highly  prized  the  public  worship  of  God,  and  the  ordinan- 
ces of  his  house ;  and  acted  with  honor  in  the  several  relations  that 
she  sustained  as  a  wife,  a  parent,  a  sister,  and  a  friend.  As  she  ad- 
vanced in  life,  she  appeared  to  grow  in  grace,  and  was  more  and 
more  engaged  to  do  good.  She  was  especially  concerned  for  the 
education  of  children,  and  the  good  of  the  rising  generation;  ac- 
cordingly she  herself  kept  a  free  school  in  her  own  house  for  a  con- 
siderable time  toward  the  latter  part  of  her  life,  and  by  her  will,  laid 
a  foundation  for  the  instruction  of  poor  children,  yet  unborn.  Du- 
ring the  last  year  of  her  life,  her  faith  and  patience,  her  piety  and 
goodness,  has  shone  forth  with  peculiar  and  (I  was  ready  to  say, 
from  every  opportunity  of  conversing  with  her  and  observing)  with 
increasing  lustre :  and  it  pleased  God  to  purify  her,  and  ripen  her 
for  glory  by  some  peculiar  dispensations. 

"  It  is  now  almost  a  year  since  it  was  the  divine  pleasure  to  take 
away  from  her  (and  from  us!)  her  only  son,  lovely  in  the  eyes  of  all, 
and  especially  dutiful  and  tender  to  her.  How  were  her  friends  then 
apprehensive,  that  she  would  sink  down  under  the  infirmities  of  old 
age,  and  the  pressures  of  that  sore  affliction  !  But  she  bore  the  shock 
at  the  time,  and  has  sustained  the  loss  ever  since,  to  the  day  of  her 
death,  with  surprising  steadiness  of  mind  and  Christian  fortitude. 
I  have  often  thought  that  the  supports  of  divine  grace  appeared  in 
her  more  conspicuous  than  in  any  instance  I  ever  saw.  Truly  it 
appeared,  that '  her  heart  was  fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord.'  By  that 
affliction  she  was  tried  and  purified  like  gold  that  hath  passed 
through  the  furnace.  But  God  was  pleased  after  this,  to  ripen  her 
more  fully  for  glory,  by  another  remarkable  incident.  Some  months 
before  she  died,  she  was  by  a  sudden  disorder  brought  even  to  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death ;  but  when  she  appeared  to  be  just 
expiring,  and  the  blaze  was,  for  an  instant,  parted  from  the  lamp, 
God  said,  return.  She  revived.  This  event  she  regarded  and  im- 
proved as  an  admonition  from  her  heavenly  father.  Accordingly, 
from  this  time  she  appeared  to  live  more  above  the  world,  and  to  be 
more  engaged  i  n  doing  good,  especially  to  the  souls  of  those  with 
whom  she  was  concerned,  standing  daily  in  actual  readiness  for  her 
departure. 

"In  one  word,  she  has  been  long  a  bright  ornament  to  this 
Church,  and  a  great  blessing  to  this  place ;  to  her  have  those  words 
been  often  applied,  'Many .daughters  have  done  virtuously,  but  thou 
excellest  them  all.'  But  she  has  finished  her  conrse,  and  we  doubt 
not,  now  inherits  the  promises." 


393 


No.  XIII. 
DR.  DANA'S  INSTALLATION. 

APPENDED  to  Dr.  Dana's  sermon,  at  his  own  installation,  is  the 
confession  of  faith,  if  so  it  may  be  called,  addressed  by  him  to  the 
installing  council. 

"  Mr.  Moderator, — Most  of  the  members  of  this  venerable  coun- 
cil have  been  well  acquainted  with  my  religious  sentiments  for  many 
years.  A  free  communication  of  them  on  this  occasion  may,  per- 
haps, be  desired  by  some,  and  not  be  disagreeable  to  any. 

"  The  eternal  existence  and  infinite  perfections  of  God  are  man- 
ifest from  the  frame  of  nature.  The  priori  argument  is  either  in- 
conclusive, or  unnecessary,  or  too  high  a  road  for  the  comprehension 
of  an  ordinary  intellect.  The  other  is  level  to  every  mind,  and  con- 
vincing as  soon  as  proposed. 

"  The  divine  unity  is  apparent  from  unity  of  design  in  the  works 
of  nature,  and  from  the  contradiction  implied  in  the  supposition  of 
two  or  more  infinite  beings.  One  such  being  could  produce  all  the 
phenomena  of  nature.  That  there  should  be  two  or  more,  would 
be  to  suppose  an  unnecessary  deity  or  deities — a  sentiment  repug- 
nant to  absolute  perfection. 

"The  natural  government  of  God  is  evident  from  the  conservation 
of  all  things  and  uniform  course  of  events.  His  moral  perfections 
and  administration  appear  from  the  moral  nature  of  man,  from  ob- 
servation of  the  administration  of  providence,  and  apprehension  of 
the  future  consequences  of  virtue  and  vice.  God  cannot,  therefore, 
be  the  efficient  of  moral  evil.  He  that  committeth  sin,  and  he  only, 
is  the  efficient  cause  or  author  of  it.  Goodness  (implying  perfect 
wisdom  and  rectitude)  appears  to  be  the  divine  plan — a  plan  appa- 
rently pursued  in  the  present  state.  The  completion  of  this  plan 
being  reserved  to  a  future  state,  the  elucidations  of  eternity  must 
explain  the  present  seeming  irregularities  of  providence.  I  can 
neither  approve  nor  understand  the  reasoning  of  those  who  under- 
take to  solve  all  objections  on  this  subject. 

"  A  being  of  infinite  perfection  could  not  make  creatures  wicked ; 
nor  withdraw  his  influence  from  his  creatures  but  in  consequence  of 
50 


394 

their  forsaking  him.  The  original  rectitude  and  present  apostacy  of 
mankind  must  therefore  be  maintained.  Whence  moral  evil  sprang, 
or  how  the  liberty  of  finite  agents  consists  with  the  infinite  know- 
ledge of  God,  I  do  not  find  that  the  Scriptures  have  explained,  and 
therefore  excuse  myself  from  attempting  an  explanation.  That  sin 
is  in  the  world,  and  that  man  in  particular  is  a  free  and  accountable 
agent,  are  not  matters  of  speculation,  but  of  fact  and  experience. 
Our  speculations  must  yield  to  practical  principles,  not  these  to  those. 

"  Revelation,  Christianity  in  particular,  I  admit  on  the  authority 
of  the  revealer.  Human  faith  and  divine  agree  in  this,  that  each  is 
founded  on  testimony.  They  differ  in  this,  that  the  former  is  found- 
ed on  the  testimony  of  man,  the  latter  on  the  testimony  of  God,  which 
is  greater.  Signs  and  wonders,  miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
proved  that  the  Scriptures  were  the  word  of  God.  To  deny  the  pos- 
sibility of  miracles,  is  to  deny  the  possibility  of  a  revelation,  these 
being  the  confirmation  of  it.  One  miracle  at  least  was  necessary  to 
prove  Christianity  to  be  true;  even  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  And 
this  indeed  proved  it  beyond  contradiction.  Admitting  this,  there 
can  be  no  objection  to  the  admission  of  the  other  facts  of  Christian- 
ity. The  apostles  were  competent  judges  whether  Jesus  rose  from 
the  dead.  If  competent  judges,  they  were  also  competent  witnesses. 
They  were  as  credible  witnesses  as  they  were  competent.  They 
testified  the  resurrection  in  plain  and  unadorned  language,  as  hon- 
est men  would  declare  any  common  fact — testified  it  amidst  poverty 
and  ignominy,  persecution  and  death.  Had  there  been  fraud,  it 
must  have  been  detected.  They  themselves  wrought  miracles  in 
confirmation  of  their  testimony.  Those  who  saw  the  miracles  of  the 
apostles,  but  saw  not  Jesus  after  he  rose  from  the  dead,  had  the  au- 
thority of  miracles  for  their  faith  in  his  resurrection.  The  apostles 
themselves  really  believed  the  resurrection,  because  they  died  for 
their  opinion.  This  being  a  matter  obvious  to  sense,  in  judging  of 
which,  persons  of  the  meanest  capacities  could  not  be  deceived,  the 
resurrection  must  doubtless  be  true,  if  they  believed  it. 

"The  original  confirmation  of  Christianity  was  sufficient  for  after 
years ;  but  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy  has  been  an  additional  and 
perpetual  confirmation.  Its  extensive  propagation,  surprising  suc- 
cess, and  present  existence,  all  circumstances  considered,  further 
prove  this  counsel  to  be  of  God.  The  testimonies  of  Jews  and  heathen, 
as  well  as  of  Christians,  establish  the  facts.  The  doctrine  of  this 
religion,  its  moral  precepts,  the  example  of  its  author,  its  sanctify- 


395 

ing  influence,  and  the  conversation  of  its  true  disciples,  all  concur 
to  prove  it  divine.  I  am  therefore  settled  in  the  belief  of  it. 

"  The  peculiar  titles,  attributes,  and  prerogatives  of  God  are 
claimed  by,  and  given  to,  the  author  of  this  religion.  Such  as, 
The  Almighty ;  I  am  that  I  am ;  the  same  yesterday,  to  day,  and 
forever;  I  am  he  that  searchcth  the  hearts  and  reins.  All  things 
were  created  by  him,  and  for  him,  and  by  him  all  things  consist. 
His  divinity  and  humanity  are  thus  declared  by  St.  Paul :  God  was 
manifest  in  the  flesh.  All  the  angels  worship  him.  We  are  com- 
manded to  honor  him  even  as  we  honor  the  Father. 

"  The  scriptures  are  express  in  giving  the  appellation  of  God  to 
'  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,'  and  in  declaring  that  '  these 
three  are  one.'  But  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness. 

"  The  imputation  of  the  offense  of  the  first  Adam,  and  of  the 
righteousness  of  the  second,  appear  to  me  to  be  the  doctrine  of  St. 
Paul ;  though  I  do  not  suppose  that  either  implies  a  transfer  of  per- 
sonal qualities.  I  view  the  atonement  of  the  Mediator  as  the  object 
of  justifying  faith.  I  consider  faith  as  the  general  condition  or  qual- 
ification of  the  gospel,  involving  a  principle  of  holiness ;  so  that  the 
subject  of  it  submits  to  the  yoke  of  Christ,  is  filled  with  the  fruits  of 
righteousness,  and  patiently  continues  in  well  doing.  Grace  and  the 
atonement  are  exalted  when  the  sinner  is  humbled,  and  from  being 
the  servant  of  sin,  becomes  the  servant  of  righteousness. 

"  The  doctrine  of  the  necessity  of  a  special  divine  influence  to 
beget  and  maintain  saving  faith,  I  esteem  one  of  the  doctrines  and 
glories  of  the  gospel,  intimately  connected  with  the  atonement,  and 
without  which,  Christ  must  have  died  in  vain. 

"  The  Scriptures  (so  far  as  I  have  learned  them)  give  us  no  ex- 
ample of  a  final  falling  from  grace.  Believers  are  kept  by  the  power 
of  God,  who  performs  his  own  work  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Faith,  as  the  apostle  teacheth,  cometh  by  hearing — by  the  word 
of  God.  This  word  is  the  medium  of  regeneration.  A  prepara- 
tory work  of  grace,  the  conduciveness  of  the  means  to  effect  the 
end  of  religion,  I  do  not  once  question.  There  are,  as  I  suppose, 
many  unprofitable,  unscriptural,  and  dangerous  speculations  on  the 
state  of  the  unregenerate,  the  use  of  means,  moral  agency  and  hu- 
man endeavors — speculations  which  have  contributed  greatly  to  the 
spread  of  skepticism  and  infidelity.  None  more  so  than  the  doc- 
trine of  the  greater  enmity  of  sinners  in  proportion  to  their  illumi- 
nation, and  present  solicitude  about  their  spiritual  interests ;  con- 


396 

nected  with  which,  is  the  blasphemous  opinion  of  God's  being  the 
cause  of  moral  evil. 

"  Some  make  it  a  term  of  salvation  that  a  person  be  willing  to  be 
damned.  Were  the  thing  possible,  which  this  opinion  supposeth,  I 
see  not  but  the  damnation  of  such  persons  would  not  only  be  just, 
but  inevitable. 

"  Baptism  is  the  only  form  of  admission  into  the  Christian  church ; 
nor  do  I  find  either  precept  or  example  in  scripture  for  professing  the 
faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  a  second  time,  as  a  term  of  communion  at 
his  table.  It  is  agreed  that  there  is  but  one  covenant,  one  faith. 
In  the  churches  where  the  practice  of  owning  the  baptismal  cove- 
nant obtains,  there  is  no  objection  to  the  admission  of  the  person 
covenanting,  to  full  communion.  The  objection  is  only  in  his  own 
mind.  This  practice  was  introduced  in  condescension  to  tender 
consciences. 

"  Mr.  Moderator,  the  time  permits  me  only  to  suggest  my  senti- 
ments in  a  general  way  on  the  doctrines  and  evidences  of  religion. 
I  acknowledge  no  other  than  the  protestant  rule  of  faith,  the  bible. 
My  aim  is  to  preach  the  word." 

President  Stiles  in  his  Literary  Diary,  noticing  "  the  installment  of 
Dr.  Dana,  bishop  of  the  First  Church  in  this  city,"  says,  "  This  was 
a  critical  transaction,  as  it  involved  some  reference  to  the  old  Wal- 
lingford  controversy  of  1758,  when  Dr.  Dana  was  ordained."  Under 
a  later  date  he  refers  again  to  the  installation  for  the  sake  of  introdu- 
cing the  questions  which  Dr.  Dana  proposed  to  Dr.  Edwards  in 
reply  to,  or  rather  in  retaliation  for,  the  questions  which  Dr.  Edwards 
had  addressed  to  him.  Dr.  Dana's  questions  are  as  follows  : 

"Is  every  idea  and  volition  of  the  creature  excited  by  the  Creator? 

"  Can  any  being  will  and  effect  sin,  and  yet  not  will  and  effect 
the  sinfulness  of  sin  ? 

"  Is  God,  or  the  creature,  the  efficient  cause  of  the  sinfulness  of  sin  ? 

"  Doth  sinfulness  consist  in  volition  itself,  or  in  the  execution  of 
volition  ? 

"  Is  all  the  sinfulness  that  is,  or  ever  was  in  the  world,  for  the 
best? 

"  Do  those  moral  agents,  whether  men  or  devils,  who  have  most 
exerted  themselves  in  promoting  this  part  of  the  moral  plan,  deserve 
commendation  in  proportion  to  such  their  exertions. 

"  Ought  we  to  give  thanks  for  all  the  sins  of  men  and  infernals  ? 


397 

"  Is  the  enmity  of  the  unregenerate  to  God  and  holiness  increased 
in  proportion  to  their  illumination  and  solicitude  about  the  concerns 
of  salvation? 

"  Is  it  the  duty  of  the  unregenerate  (continuing  so)  to  pray  ?  Or 
have  they  any  encouragement  to  pray  ? 

"  Are  there  any  means  of  regeneration  ? 

"  Is  the  first  offense  of  Adam  imputed  to  his  posterity  ? 

"  Was  that  offense  our  personal  act  ? 

"  Is  human  depravity  limited  to  any  one  faculty,  or  doth  it  extend 
to  all  the  faculties? 

"  Is  it  a  term  of  salvation,  that  a  person  be  trilling  to  be  damned  ? 
Or  were  Moses  and  Paul  willing  to  be  damned  for  the  salvation  of 
their  people  ? 

"Are  such  qualifications  requisite  to  Christian  communion,  as 
none  but  the  searcher  of  hearts  can  judge  of? 

"Are  all  those  points  which  are  fundamental  to  one  Christian, 
fundamental  to  all  ? 

"  Must  we  exclude  from  Christian  fellowship  all  those  who  do  not 
admit  all  the  points  that  are  fundamental  to  us  ? 

"Hath  any  man,  or  body  of  men,  authority  from  Christ  to  make 
any  thing  necessary  to  salvation  and  Christian  communion  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  hath  not  clearly  and  expressly  declared  to  be  so,  in 
Scripture  ? 

"May  any  man,  or  body  of  men,  determine  that  their  own  inter- 
pretation is  the  certain  and  infallible  sense  of  Scripture  ?" 

Dr.  Stiles  adds,  that  he  copied  these  questions  "  from  the  original 
paper  which  Dr.  Dana  had  before  him  in  his  own  handwriting  in 
council,  at  the  time  of  asking  the  questions,  and  from  which  he  asked 
the  questions.  Dr.  Edwards  asked  his  questions  also  from  a  prepared 
paper,  which  he  brought  into  the  council,  took  out  of  his  pocket,  and 
used." 

Dr.  Stiles  subjoins  two  other  questions  which  he  says  were  on  Dr. 
Dana's  paper,  but  crossed,  and  he  does  not  remember  whether  they 
were  asked. 

"  Is  there  a  tendency  in  the  means  of  grace  to  effect  the  end  of 
religion  ? 

"Doth  the  Spirit  improve  the  word  of  truth  as  a  means  of  regene- 
ration?" 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  a  manifest  object  of  these  questions 
was — as  the  object  of  such  questionings  and  of  theological  controver- 


398 

sies  too  often  is — to  excite  odium  against  supposed  innovators  in 
theology.  If  we  had  Dr.  Edvvards's  questions  addressed  to  Dr.  Dana, 
it  would  not  be  strange  to  find  them  framed  with  a  similar  intent. 


MISCELLANEOUS    CORRECTIONS    AND    ADDITIONS. 

THE  note  on  page  16,  was  added  in  a  hasty  moment,  and  contains 
an  error.  Trumbull  (I,  251)  gives  the  information,  which  I  had 
forgotten,  that  one  of  the  first  acts  of  Connecticut  after  receiving 
the  charter  was,  "  that  the  same  colony  seal  should  be  continued." 
The  three  vines  appear  to  have  been  the  arms  of  Connecticut,  from 
the  time  when  the  three  towns  of  Hartford,  Windsor,  and  Wethers- 
field,  were  planted  in  that  rich  valley. 

The  New  Haven  colony  too  had  its  seal,  the  device  of  which  was 
left  to  the  judgment  of  Governor  Eaton,  and  which  was  received  from 
England — a  present  from  Governor  Hopkins — when  the  printed 
laws  were  received  in  1655.  I  have  taken  pains,  but  unsuccessfully, 
to  find  some  traces  of  the  armorial  bearings  of  the  New  Haven  col- 
ony. The  device  is  probably  one  of  the  things  lost  on  earth : 

"  Nor  ever  more 

Herald  or  antiquary's  patient  search 
Shall  from  forgetfulness  avail  to  save 
Those  blazoned  arms." 

In  reference  to  the  three  vines,  let  me  add  from  the  same  poet, 

"  But  oblivion  ne'er 

Shall  cancel  from  the  historic  roll ;  nor  lime 
Who  changeth  all,  obscure  that  fated  sign." 

Another  error  which  escaped  a  more  seasonable  correction,  is  in 
the  word  "  polygonal"  on  page  208.  The  old  meeting-house  of  1668, 
was  I  believe  quadrangular,  with  a  pyramidal  roof,  of  which  the  apex 
was  surmounted  with  a  belfry.  I  have  seen  those  who  remembered 
it ;  though  I  know  not  that  any  such  person  is  now  living.  The 
bell-rope  came  down  into  the  middle  of  the  broad  aisle ;  and  if  my 
recollections  do  not  deceive  me,  the  stairs  mounting  to  the  galleries, 
were  on  the  outside  of  the  building. 

I  find  another  slight  error  on  page  256.  The  Episcopal  Churches 
in  New  England  were  opene'd  before  the  close  of  the  revolutionary 
war.  In  the  autumn  of  1778,  the  bishop  of  London  sent  over  an 


399 

order  to  the  clergy  under  his  government  in  America,  to  open  their 
Churches,  and  perform  divine  service  according  to  the  liturgy,  omit- 
ting the  prayers  for  the  king  and  royal  family.  Dr.  Hubbard  ac- 
cordingly opened  his  Church  in  this  city  on  the  20th  of  December, 
1778,  for  the  first  time  after  the  declaration  of  independence. — 
Stiles's  Lit.  Diary. 

Some  account  of  the  dates  of  the  several  ecclesiastical  edifices 
in  New  Haven,  may  be  added  here. 

The  house  of  worship  occupied  by  the  first  Church  and  Society, 
commonly  called  the  Center  Church,  was  erected  in  the  years  1813 
and  1814,  at  an  expense  of  about  $34,000.  It  was  dedicated  on 
the  27th  of  December,  1814. 

The  house  of  worship  occupied  by  the  .Church  and  Congregation 
of  the  United  Society,  commonly  called  the  North  Church,  and  the 
Episcopal  house  of  worship,  called  Trinity  Church,  were  erected  si- 
multaneously in  the  years  1814  and  1815,  the  former  at  an  expense 
of  about  $30,000,  the  latter  at  an  expense  of  about  $28,000. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
public  square,  was  erected  in  1821.  The  walls  and  roof  had  just 
been  finished,  when  by  the  great  gale  of  September,  1821,  they  were 
laid  prostrate  to  the  foundation.  It  was  immediately  rebuilt. 

The  Baptist  Church  was  erected  in  1824,  and  enlarged  in  1837. 

The  Church  at  the  corner  of  Chapel  and  Union  streets,  was  erect- 
ed by  the  Third  Congregational  Society  in  1828  and  1829,  at  an 
expense  of  $18,000,  including  the  land. 

The  Episcopal  place  of  worship,  called  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  was 
also  erected  in  1828  and  1829,  at  an  expense  of  about  $17,000,  in- 
cluding the  land. 

The  Congregational  Church  in  Fair  Haven  was  erected  in  1829 
and  1830,  at  an  expense  of  ahout  $9,000. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Chapel  was  erected  in  1834. 

The  Methodist  Church  in  Fair  Haven  was  erected  in  1835. 

The  Congregational  Church  in  Westville  was  erected  in  1835. 

The  Free  Church  (Congregational)  was  erected  in  1835  and 
1836,  at  an  expense  of  about  $16,000,  including  the  land  and  the 
rooms  in  the  basement. 

The  Episcopal  Church  in  Westville,  St.  James's  Church,  was 
erected  in  1837. 


400 

Besides  these,  there  is  a  convenient  little  edifice,  occupied  by  the 
congregation  of  colored  people  in  Temple  street,  and  another  in 
Westville,  occupied  by  the  Methodist  congregation  there. 

There  are  then  in  the  town  of  New  Haven,  exclusive  of  the 
Chapel  of  Yale  College,  fifteen  edifices,  devoted  to  the  use  of  as 
many  religious  assemblies.  Several  of  these  are  very  large  and 
costly,  and  are  among  the  finest  specimens  of  Church  architecture 
in  New  England ;  generally  they  are  neat  and  attractive ;  and  all 
of  them  are  commodious  and  pleasant  to  the  worshipers. 


The  portraits  which  accompany  this  volume  are  of  unquestionable 
authenticity.  That  of  the  venerable  Davenport  is  from  an  ancient, 
and  doubtless  original  picture,  which  has  been  long  in  the  possession 
of  Yale  College,  and  which  from  a  date  on  a  corner  of  the  canvass, 
seems  to  have  been  painted  not  long  before  his  death.  Of  Mr.  Pier- 
pont,  an  ancient  portrait  remains  in  the  possession  of  his  great  grand- 
daughter, Mrs.-  Foster,  of  this  city.  This  picture,  before  it  falls  to 
pieces,  ought  to  be  copied,  and  placed  in  the  Trumbull  Gallery. 
The  portrait  of  Mr.  Whittelsey,  copied  by  the  engraver,  was  painted 
by  an  artist  named  De  la  Noy,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his 
daughter  in  this  city.  And  the  striking  resemblance  of  Dr.  Dana's 
most  peculiar  features,  is  from  a  miniature  by  Dickinson,  now  be- 
longing to  E.  Dana  Comstock,  Esq.,  of  New  York. 


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